WAGADOGU: Protestants have attacked a Protestant church in Burkina Faso, West Africa, killing 24 people, including a pastor. 18 people were injured. The attack on the temple in Pansi in the Yagya province on Sunday. The church burned down after attacking believers. The assailants arrived during a prayer service. Bundor Mayor Sihanti Brigadi said the men were shot and killed after the men and women were separated. The attackers abducted three people.
The security personnel revealed that the attackers fled the area by looting rice and oil from nearby shops. Former French colony Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries. In recent years, the activities of Islamist militants have been growing at an alarming rate. The latest incident is the killing of a retired pastor and the abduction of a pastor in Yagna province last week.
Last year, four thousand people were killed by Islamic militants in Burkina Faso’s neighboring countries, Mali and Niger. The vast majority of these are Christians. In Burkina Faso, which is 60 percent Muslim, only twenty percent are Christians.
