Bus drives over mine, killing 14 students in Burkina Faso

Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A bus drove over a mine Saturday in Burkina Faso killing at least 14 students returning from New Year's break.

The bus hit the improvised explosive device in the Toeni area of Sourou province of Burkina Faso in West Africa between Donkou and Dagale villages, a local radio station tweeted, killing 14, and injuring nine, four seriously.

The reason the bus drove over the IED is not yet clear, but jihadist threat has recently increased in the country.

On Christmas Eve, jihadists killed at least 35 civilians, mostly women, in an attack on a military base in northern Burkina Faso. The attack on the Arbinda, Soum province, military base also killed seven soldiers and 80 jihadists, the army said.

Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore declared 48 hours of national mourning "in memory of the civilian and military victims" of the attack on Christmas Eve.

In November, the Canadian Embassy in Burkina Faso condemned a separate attack against a five-bus convoy transporting employees of Canadian gold mining company Semafo as a "terrorist attack" in a Twitter post. The attack killed 37 people and injured 60 others.

Prior to the attack, violence in the country had surged, displacing nearly half a million, including 267,000 people within just a few months, sparking "an unprecedented humanitarian emergency," the U.N. Refugee Agency said.

The agency added that since last year more than 500 people have been killed in 472 attacks and countermilitary operations across the country.

The violence has continued despite Western countries attempts to help the region combat insurgents.