20 killed, 600 hurt in Equatorial Guinea blasts

Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) (TIP): A series of explosions at military barracks in Equatorial Guinea killed at least 20 persons and wounded more than 600 others, the authorities said. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said the explosion at 4 pm local time was due to the “negligent handling of dynamite” in the military barracks located in the neighbourhood of Mondong Nkuantoma in Bata. “The explosion caused damage in almost all houses and buildings in Bata,” the President said. The Defence Ministry released a statement late Sunday saying that a fire at a weapons depot in the barracks caused the explosion of high-calibre ammunition. It said the cause of the explosions would be investigated. — AP