More than 50 people have been killed in separate militant attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Monday. Separatist group the Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, is claiming responsibility.
The largest of the attacks targeted trucks and buses on a highway in Musakhail district. Armed men forced people out of their vehicles and shot them after checking their ID cards. Local police say at least 23 people were killed.
In other attacks, gunmen killed security forces and civilians. They also burned vehicles. At least 53 people have been killed in total.
Pakistan is promoting infrastructure and natural resources projects in the province with China. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attacks saying the militants want to stop these projects.
He said, “The purpose of these nefarious plots is to obstruct and prevent the ongoing development projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in different parts of Balochistan.”
The BLA has carried out a number of attacks in recent years. It claims the China-Pakistan projects unfairly exploit local resources.