Dablo, 23 June, 2019 / 6:27 am (ACI Africa).
A group of gunmen burned down a Catholic Church during Sunday Mass and killed at least six people, including a priest, in the west African nation of Burkina Faso this morning.
The attackers reportedly burst into the church, located in the northern town of Dablo, and started shooting at the beginning of Mass, around 9 am local time
France 24 cited a security source who said there were “some twenty to thirty armed men" involved in the attack. The gunmen are as yet unidentified.
A government official told the BBC that the militants also set fire to a nearby shops and a health center. Dablo’s Mayor, Ousmane Zongo, said the town is “filled with panic” and that citizens are “holed up at home.”
The people of Burkina Faso have suffered an increasing number of terrorist attacks in recent years from Islamic jihadist groups including al-Qaeda affiliates. Authorities said five teachers were shot to death in a separate attack on Friday.
