Calls for prayer after deadly Burkina Faso church attack

There have been appeals for prayer after 15 Christians were killed in an attack during a church service in Burkina Faso on Sunday. 

Abbot Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, of the local Diocese of Dori, said that 12 people were killed immediately within the attack and three others died later in hospital. 

Gunmen opened fire on the church in Essakane village, within the north-east of the country, through the service. The attackers are believed to be Islamist militants. 

Sawadogo has asked people to wish for all those affected. 

“In this painful circumstance, we invite you to wish for many who died in faith, for the healing of the wounded, and for the consolidation of grieving hearts,” he said.

Open Doors said that the north of the country has been blighted by serious violence because the departure of French troops from the country last yr. 

The organisation, which advocates for persecuted Christians worldwide, said that not less than 800,000 people in Burkina Faso “effectively live under a militant Islamist group siege”. 

Burkina Faso is number 20 on Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations where it’s most dangerous to be a Christian. 

Open Doors says that jihadist violence has “increased radically” because it began working in Burkina Faso in 2019. 

Jo Newhouse, Open Doors’ spokesperson on Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “Burkina Faso has been known for religious tolerance and social cohesion.

“However, the growing Islamic insurgency threatens the peaceful coexistence of the Burkinabe. Christians have been disproportionately impacted by the growing insurgency within the north of the country, with churches and Christian communities singled out in attacks.

“Meanwhile Muslims who don’t side with the Islamic extremist groups have also suffered greatly.”