37 killed in attack on Canadian miner Semafo convoy in Burkina Faso

NAIROBI - Thirty-seven civilians were killed and more than 60 wounded when gunmen ambushed a convoy transporting workers of Canadian gold miner Semafo in eastern Burkina Faso, regional authorities said on Wednesday.

The attack is the deadliest in recent years as the military struggles to contain Islamist violence that has overrun parts of Burkina Faso. Semafo tightened security last year following armed incidents near two of its mines in the country.

Semafo said in a statement earlier that the attack on a convoy of five buses of e ses with military escort took place on the road to its Boungou mine in the eastern region of Est, about 40 kilometres from Boungou, and that there were several fatalities and injuries.

The East governor's office later gave more detail, saying "unidentified armed men laid an ambush for a convoy transporting Semafo workers,” giving a provisional civilian death toll of 37 with over 60 wounded.

That toll does not include an unknown number of the security forces who may have been killed in the attack. The toll was likely to rise as there are a large number of people still unaccounted for, according to a security source.

Two security sources said the military vehicle leading the convoy was struck by an IED on a stretch of road where there is no cellphone network.

Shortly after the initial explosion, an unknown number of gunmen opened fire. One of the sources said it appeared that they targeted the buses as well as the military escort, which was unusual.

In December a police vehicle was attacked on the same road, resulting in five deaths. Once a pocket of relative calm in the Sahel, Burkina has suffered a homegrown insurgency for the past three years, which has been amplified by a spillover of jihadist violence and criminality from its chaotic northern neighbour Mali.

After last yera's incidents, which Semafo said were the work of “armed bandits,” the company reinforced its escorts and decided to transport all expatriate employees by helicopter between the Boungou mine and Ouagadougou.