Terrorists invade catholic church, kill 15 worshippers

Terrorists on Sunday invaded a Catholic Church in northern Burkina Faso, DockaysWorld reports.

The gunmen reportedly killed fifteen worshippers who came for the morning mass and injured two others.

“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 reverend in charge of the Dori diocese, Jean-Pierre Sawadogo said.

Calling for peace and security in Burkina Faso, Sawadogo denounced “those who continue to wreak death and desolation in our country”.

Essakane village, where the attack took place, is in what is known as the “three borders” zone in the northeast of the country, near the common borders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Punch reports.

This is just the latest in a series of atrocities blamed on jihadist groups active in the region, some of which have targeted Christian churches while others have involved the abduction of clergymen.

Burkina Faso is part of the vast Sahel region, which has been locked in a battle against rising violent extremism since Libya’s civil war in 2011, followed by an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012.