At least 35 have been killed and another 37 injured with some of them critical, after a land mine exploded in Burkina Faso, officials said.

The government in the country's Sahel region announced late Monday evening that a vehicle driving in a military convoy drove on an active land mine.

The victims of the explosion were all civilians, according to a government statement, with many children among the injured. The group was under military protection on Monday afternoon from the city of Djibo to the capital Ouagadougou to stock up on basic necessities.

The West African country, with around 21 million inhabitants, has been in a severe humanitarian and political crisis since 2019. Armed groups, some of which belong to Daesh or al-Qaida-linked terrorist networks, are active there and in neighboring Mali and Niger.

Protracted droughts and famines also make things difficult for the country, which is impoverished despite rich gold deposits. The military has ruled Burkina Faso since a coup in January.