Terror during the celebration of Mass in the Catholic church of the village of Essakane, in Burkina Faso. The death toll is heavy. This was made known by the bishop of the diocese of Dori, Monsignor Laurent Bifuré Dabire: “The provisional toll is 15 faithful killed, of which 12 died on site and three in the health center due to their injuries”.
Twelve faithful they are dead on site, three following the serious injuries sustained. According to some local press sources, the raid was conducted by some armed men, most likely Islamic fundamentalists, inside the sacred building. The Global Terrorism Index, which measures the impact of terrorism in each country in the world, indicates the African country in second place just after Afghanistan in terms of security risk. In Burkina Faso, Islamist jihadist groups close to Al-Qaeda and in the past to the ISI are very active, and have always been guilty of very serious violations of human rights and they control approximately 40% of the national territory.
“In these painful circumstances – writes the bishop – we invite you to pray for the eternal rest of those who have died in the faith, for the healing of the wounded and for the consolation of sorrowful hearts. We also pray for the conversion of those who continue to sow death and desolation in our country. May our efforts of penance and prayer during this period of Lent bring peace and security to our country, Burkina Faso.”
Essakane is located in Oudalan province, in the Sahel region. The armed terrorist groups are trying to oppose with all their strength the reconquest of the territory carried out by the transitional 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 caused at least twenty thousand deaths, while around two million people have been forced to flee.
From the burkina24.com website
“Horror for the cowardly terrorist attack against Catholic faithful during a Holy Mass in Essakane”, writes the deputy prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs on Antonio Tajani. “My condolences to the families of the victims and maximum solidarity with the injured.”
“A continuous massacre is taking place against Christians”, declares in a note the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana. “We join the Catholic community of Essakane, in Burkina Faso, in deep sorrow for the victims and injured of a terrorist attack, in the hope that the international community will turn the spotlight, as soon as possible and appropriately, on the issue of Christians who are persecuted, oppressed or need, which are hundreds of millions in the world“.