Terror during mass celebrations in the village's Catholic church Essakane, in Burkina Faso. The death toll is high. This was announced by the Bishop of the Diocese of Dori, Monsignor Laurent Bifuré Dabire: “The preliminary number is 15 faithful killed, of which 12 died on site and three in the health center due to their injuries.”
Twelve they are loyal dead on site, three after suffering serious injuries. According to some local press sources, the raid inside the holy building was carried out by some armed men, most likely Islamic fundamentalists. The Global Terrorism Index, which measures the impact of terrorism in every country in the world, ranks the African country second only to Afghanistan in terms of security risk. In Burkina Faso, Islamist jihadist groups close to Al-Qaeda and, in the past, the ISI are very active and have always been guilty of the most serious human rights violations They control about 40% of the national territory.
“In these painful circumstances,” writes the Bishop, “we invite you to pray for the eternal repose of those who have died in the faith, for the healing of the wounded and for the consolation of sad hearts. We also pray for the conversion of those who continue to sow death and devastation in our land. May our efforts of penance and prayer this Lent bring peace and security to our country, Burkina Faso.”
Essakane is located in the Oudalan province in the Sahel region. The armed terrorist groups are trying with all their might to resist the recapture of the territory by the interim government led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, in power since 2022 after the second coup in less than a year. The jihadists arrived in Burkina Faso in 2015. Attacks and armed clashes have so far claimed at least twenty thousand lives and around two million people have had to flee.
From the website burkina24.com
“Horror at the cowardly terrorist attack on Catholic believers during a Holy Mass in Essakane,” the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister continued Antonio Tajani. “My condolences go out to the families of the victims and the greatest possible solidarity with the injured.”
“There is an ongoing massacre of Christians,” explains the President of the Chamber of Deputies in a statement. Lorenzo Fontana. “We join the Catholic community of Essakane, Burkina Faso, in deep mourning for the victims and injured of a terrorist attack, hoping that the international community will spotlight the Christian issue as soon as possible and appropriately.” There are hundreds of millions of people in the world who are persecuted, oppressed or in need.”
