At least 15 people have been killed in a deadly attack by gunmen on a Catholic church in north-eastern Burkina Faso on Sunday, in what has been described as as “terrorist attack” by a church official.
The killings took place as the faithful gathered in the church in Essakane village in Oudalan province – close to the border with Mali. At least 2 others were left injured in the attack, carried out by what the BBC reports were “suspected Islamist militants”.
“We bring to your attention a terrorist attack which the Catholic community of Essakane village was the victim of today, February 25, while they were gathered for Sunday prayer,” the head of the Dori diocese, Abbott Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, said in a statement.
“In this painful circumstance, we invite you to pray for those who died in faith, for the healing of the wounded, and for the consolidation of grieving hearts,” he said.
Former editor of the Irish Catholic, Michael Kelly, said the news was “heartbreaking” and that “the war on Christians is relentless and largely ignored by western leaders”.
Heartbreaking – the war on Christians is relentless and largely ignored by western leaders. https://t.co/kmYdYfbaMd
— Michael Kelly ن (@MichaelPTKelly) February 25, 2024
Since 2015, Burkina Faso is been caught up in a worsening spiral of violence, as the government – a military dictatorship – battles Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The conflict has taken up to 20,000 lives and displaced millions of people, while millions also face food insecurity and rising violence.
In the last three years, churches have been targeted and scores of worshippers killed, news reports say.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Burkina-Niger says the country’s descent into chaos has had a calamitous effect on the Catholic faithful in the country.
“Overall, some thirty parishes and their associated structures (presbyteries, religious communities, health and education facilities, etc.) remain closed or inaccessible,” they said earlier this month.
“The corollary of this is the decline of socio-economic works in some places, the casualization of pastoral workers, the impoverishment of the population, especially in the affected areas, and the continuing phenomenon of internally displaced persons, which is causing socio-demographic upheavals in a noxious social climate,” the bishops said.
Burkina Faso is a a predominantly Muslim nation, and Christians find themselves particularly vulnerable. The bishop of Dori, speaking on the situation, voiced concerns over militants’ ambitions to establish a caliphate in the Sahel, further endangering the Christian minority and the nation’s fragile pluralism, Aid to the Church in Need reported.