Bamako: Twenty-four people including mothers and babies were killed on Thursday when their vehicle ran over a landmine in central Mali, local residents said.

The deaths brought the number of fatalities linked to Mali’s extremist insurgency to 33 in 24 hours, most of them civilians.

The victims had been travelling from neighbouring Burkina Faso for a weekly market in Boni, local officials said.

The blast occurred nine kilometres (five miles) from the town.

“The final toll is 24, including four babies with their mothers. There are no survivors,” said Boni resident Abdoulaye Cheick, who described himself as a relative of one of the dead.

Local officials had earlier given a provisional toll of 13 dead, made up of civilians from Mali and Burkina Faso.

“Terrorists use these mines to spread fear,” a Malian security source said, adding that the victims had been killed instantly.

Agence France-Presse