Attacks by jihadist groups have increased since 2015, and AFP reported that almost 400 people have been killed in the past four years. The groups include Ansarul Islam, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
Last December, the government of Burkina Faso declared a state of emergency in several northern provinces as a result of these ongoing attacks, Reuters reports.
Pope Francis has offered prayers for victims of attacks on Catholic churches in Burkina Faso, including a May 12 incident when a group of gunmen burned down a church building in Dablo while Mass was being celebrated, killing at least six people including a priest.
Four died in an April 5 attack on a parish in the Diocese of Dori. Fr. Joel Yougbaré, pastor of Djibo, was kidnapped in March. Six were killed in an April 29 attack on a Protestant church in Silgadji.
Several more attacks on Catholic Churches, with additional fatalities, took place at Catholic Churches in Burkina Faso in the weeks after that attack in early May.
“Let us unite our prayers for the repose in God of the martyrs, for a prompt recovery of the wounded, for the consolation of the weeping families, for the conversion of the tormentors and for peace in our country of Burkina Faso,” Bishop Justin Kientega of Ouahigouya said after a May 26 attack that killed four.
CRS is working the region to supply aid for those forced to leave their homes, in the form of clean water and sanitation services, food, shelter and household items, as well as long-term aid in the form of healthcare, education, and agricultural and peacebuilding projects, the group reported.
“Very simply, unless this trend is reversed, we risk losing so many development gains over the last decade,” Overton warned.
“The window to prevent this backsliding is rapidly closing and demands urgent attention from the international community.”
