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At least 15 civilians were killed, and two others injured during a “terrorist” attack on a Catholic church during Sunday mass in northern Burkina Faso, a senior church official said.
“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 vicar of the Dori diocese, Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, said in a statement sent to AFP. The provisional toll was 15 killed, two wounded, he added.
No further details were provided about the attack, which no group claimed responsibility for. But suspicion fell on jihadis who have frequently attacked remote communities and security forces, especially in the northern region.
About half of Burkina Faso is outside government control as jihadi groups have ravaged the country for years. Fighters have killed thousands and displaced more than 2 million people, further threatening the stability of the country that had two coups in 2022.
The country’s junta has struggled to restore peace in violence hot spots since the first coup in January 2022, the number of people killed by jihadis has nearly tripled compared with the 18 previous months, according to a report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in August.
In addition to the junta’s limited capacity, the security situation also has been worsened by the country’s porous borders with Mali and Niger, both of which are also run by juntas, and which also struggle with security crises.
Daily Mail Ghana was not involved in the creation of the content above. AP and AFP produced this article.
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