Burkina Faso: Attack on church kills 6
Silgadji [Burkina Faso], Apr 30 ,, An attack by motorbike-borne assailants on a Protestant church here claimed the lives of six people, including of a pastor. At least two people are said to be missing after the attack that happened on Sunday.
“The attack happened around 1 pm just as the faithful were leaving the church at the end of the service. The attackers were on motorbikes. They fired in the air before aiming at the members of the congregation,” an unnamed witness told Al Jazeera on Monday.
This is the first attack on a church since sectarian violence erupted in the African country, according to government spokesman Remy Fulgance Dandjinou. It is not yet known if any group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The strike comes exactly a week after coordinated bomb blasts rattled multiple locations, including churches, across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
Rinaldo Depagne, West Africa Project Director at International Crisis Group, said: “Armed groups…have every interest in troubling or going against the good understanding between religions. We have observed this strategy in other countries in the region and in the world.”
