AT LEAST 24 DEAD IN THE DJIHADIST ATTACK OF A PROTESTANT CHURCH

A new jihadist attack on Sunday February 16, 2020 in a Protestant church in Pansi, a village in northern Burkina Faso, killed 24 people, including the church pastor. A Protestant church in the village of Pansi was attacked on Sunday .

At least 24 people have been killed including the pastor of the church announced the governor of the Sahel region, Colonel Salfo Kaboré.

The latter explained that there were also 18 wounded and "abducted people", adding that this was a provisional assessment. The attack was carried out by an armed terrorist group, according to a security source.

Twenty attackers

The attackers were in their twenties and separated the men and women before attacking the church, according to the mayor of the neighboring commune of Boundoré.

"The wounded were evacuated to Sebba and Dori for appropriate care and the deceased carried to the ground on the same day by the survivors, spontaneously helped by the inhabitants of neighboring villages," added Colonel Salfo Kaboré.

4000 dead last year

Jihadist attacks on churches or Christian clerics have multiplied in recent months in Burkina. On February 10, a jihadist group burst into the town of Sebba, also in northern Burkina Faso, before kidnapping seven people from a pastor's home.

Three days later, five people including the pastor were found dead, while the other two, women, were found safe and sound, according to the governor

In this country bordering Mali and Niger, they have left around 750 dead and 600,000 displaced since 2015, the daily said. In 2019, jihadist attacks in these three countries left 4,000 dead according to the UN .