Published on : 10/07/2022 – 21:22
Seven children died and two others seriously injured on the night of July 9 to 10 in the Savannah region, on the border of Benin and Burkina Faso, not far from Pendjari Park and the Pama reserve. In this region, armed groups attack regularly, on the Burkinabè and Beninese side, and in recent weeks, on the Togolese side, there have been armed attacks. Were these children victims of a terrorist act or a mistake? At the moment, we really don’t know what happened.
With our correspondent in Lomé, Peter Sassou Dogbe
The tragedy occurred in Natigou in the northeast of the prefecture of Tône in the savannah region. Children on bicycles were returning from a ball late at night when they were found dead.
Confusion still reigns over the deaths of these children aged 10 to 15. Several local witnesses attest to having heard two explosions during the night, which might be similar to anti-personnel mines. When they got to the scene, the bodies of barely recognizable children were lying on the ground.
Other sources contacted claim that the children were hit by fire from flying machines.
Explosion of improvised device or shooting from drone, impossible for the moment to know what really happened this night. But the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces indicates in a press release that an investigation is open to elucidate the circumstances of this explosion and identify the perpetrators.
It also asks the populations of the area to avoid non-essential night trips in order to respect the state of security emergency established since the last armed attacks in the savannah region.
