Burkina Faso: At least 24 dead in attack on evangelical church

Marauding paramilitaries - image Fides

Source: Fides

Unidentified gunmen attacked an Evangelical church in the village of Pansi, located not far from Sebba, in the province of Yahgha, in northern Burkina Faso, yesterday, Sunday 16 February, killing at least 24 people and injuring about ten.

The attack took place in the morning when the faithful were gathered in the church for Sunday worship. The perpetrators arrived by motorbike and opened fire on the faithful, then they left with the pastor and other hostages.

On February 10, a jihadist group stormed the city of Sebba and kidnapped seven people in the house of a Protestant pastor. Three days later, five of them, including the pastor, were found dead while the other two, women, were found unharmed.

In addition to Catholic priests and Protestant pastors, several imams have also been murdered by jihadists in northern Burkina Faso since the attacks started four years ago. In October, the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Kaboré, made an appeal to the people not to fall into the trap of sectarian war, but little seems to have been done to stop the attacks.