Toeni bus bombing

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Toeni bus bombing
Part of Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
Location Toeni Department, Sourou Province, Burkina Faso
DateJanuary 4, 2020
Attack type
Improvised explosive device
Deaths14
Injured9
PerpetratorUnknown

The Toeni bus bombing occurred when a school bus drove over an improvised explosive device in Toeni, Burkina Faso, killing fourteen people and injuring nine others on January 4, 2020.

Contents

Background

Burkina Faso has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency since 2015, with attacks from groups like Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara intensifying since 2017 and 2019 respectively. [1] Throughout the war, landmines have plagued rural areas, and are often placed by jihadists along roads used by the military and civilians. [2]

Bombing

Three buses were carrying 160 passengers, 104 of them students. [3] The bus was carrying students returning from the Christmas season along the Toeni-Tougan highway at the time of the bombing. [4] Stanislas Ouaro stated afterwards that the road was closed, due to the risk of attacks in the region. [3]

The bomb was a homemade IED, and no group claimed responsibility for the attack. [5]

The majority of the dead were children, according to a statement from the Burkinabe government. [6] Fourteen people were killed, including seven children, and nine were injured. [7]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin</span> Militant jihadist organisation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso</span> Ongoing insurgency in Burkina Faso (2015–present)

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On September 5, 2022, a bus travelling from Djibo to the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou hit a mine outside the town of Silgadji, killing 35 people and injured dozens more.

On October 13, 2022, an IED hit a civilian bus travelling along the Bandiagara-Goundaka highway in rural Mali, killing 10 civilians and injuring dozens more. The attack was alleged to be coordinated by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

On December 25, 2022, a bus traveling from Fada N'gourma to the trading town of Kantchari hit a landmine near the village of Bougui, Burkina Faso. Ten people were killed and five were injured.

On March 2, 2023, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked the village of Aorema, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso. They killed fourteen civilians.

On April 15, 2023, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked a group of Burkinabe soldiers and civilian volunteers in the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) near Aorema, Yatenga Province, Burkina Faso, killing at least forty soldiers and VDP and injuring over thirty others. The attack occurred a month after a massacre against civilians by JNIM in Aorema that killed fourteen. Following the attack, Burkinabe soldiers searching for the perpetrators of the April attack killed over 130 civilians in the Karma massacre.

On December 27, 2018, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked Burkinabe soldiers in Loroni, northern Burkina Faso, killing ten soldiers. The attack was the deadliest incident for Burkinabe forces since the Nassoumbou attack in 2016.

On August 8, 2021, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin ambushed Burkinabe forces in Dounkoun, Toeni Department, Burkina Faso, killing twelve soldiers.

On May 21, 2022, jihadists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin attacked the city of Bourzanga, Burkina Faso, but the attack was repelled by Burkinabe and French forces.

References

  1. Savell, Stephanie (March 4, 2021). "The Costs of United States' Post-9/11 "Security Assistance": How Counterterrorism Intensified Conflict in Burkina Faso and Around the World" (PDF). Watson Institute at Brown University. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. "Landmines, improvised explosive devices pose deadly risks for displaced in Sahel and Lake Chad". UNHCR US. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  3. 1 2 AFP (2020-01-05). "Seven children among 14 killed in roadside bomb in Burkina Faso". Brecorder. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  4. "Children among more than a dozen killed in Burkina Faso bombing, security sources say". France 24. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  5. "Schoolchildren among 14 killed in Burkina Faso bus blast". RFI. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  6. "Burkina Faso bus blast: Students among 14 dead". 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  7. "Incident Summary for GTDID: 202001040001". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-06.