BURKINA FASO: 100 Christians killed in three months
Islamist extremists have massacred around 100 Christians and kidnapped many more in Burkina Faso in attacks since May.
The last atrocity took place on Sunday (25th August) when insurgents captured 26 people including Christians in Sanaba, western Burkina Faso and took them to a church where they murdered them by cutting their throats.
Insurgents surrounded Sanaba and herded the villagers together. All non-Muslim men over the age of 12 were separated out before being killed.
While the majority of the victims were Christian, there were also members of other faiths among the dead, including animists.
This incident happened a day after the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history, which saw at least 150 people killed – up to 250, according to some sources – in Barsalogho, central Burkina Faso.
Local Church sources told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that further attacks occurred in Nouna Diocese near the country’s western border with Mali.
A source – who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons – said that “around 5,000 women and children have sought refuge in the city of Nouna” after the attacks.
The source added: “There is not a single man among them.
“The whereabouts of the male population is still uncertain, we don’t know if they escaped, if they are hiding, or if they were murdered.”
They highlighted that a large number of Catholic, Protestant and animist places of worship have been torched and ransacked in the past months.
They told ACN: “In Zekuy, the local catechist realised an attack was taking place when he heard the sound of motorcycles and managed to escape into the woods with the Blessed Sacrament and the rest of the population.
“However, the church was vandalised, and images were destroyed.
“They also tried to desecrate the tabernacle, and painted inscriptions on the wall that had a fresco of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Last week’s extremist attacks are part of an ongoing armed conflict in Burkina Faso that has plunged the country into an increasingly deeper crisis since 2015.
ACN has supported 76 projects in the country over the past year to assist the Church and ease the suffering of those affected by Islamist violence.