Vatican: Pope Francis condemns terrorist attacks with hundreds of victims in Burkina Faso

Pope Francis expressed his pain and condemnation after the terrorist attacks that have left hundreds of victims in Burkina Faso, Africa.

“It is with pain that I learned that on Saturday, August 24, in the commune of Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, hundreds of people, including women and children, died and many others were injured in a terrorist attack,” the Holy Father said after the prayer. of the Angelus this Sunday in the Vatican.

“By condemning these execrable attacks on human life, I express my closeness to the entire nation and my deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” added the Holy Father.

“May the Virgin Mary help the beloved people of Burkina Faso to regain peace and security,” he concluded.

The terrorist attack of August 24

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)reported that on August 24, the village of Barsalogho “was the target of a terrorist attack in which more than 150 people died, including 22 Christians.”

It was the third attack that occurred in August in the African nation and “it is one of the bloodiest attacks in the history of the country, which has suffered Islamist terror since 2015”.

According to reports from different local media, residents of the community of Barsalogho, about 30 kilometers north of Kaya, capital of the North-Central region, “were digging defensive trenches to protect themselves from terrorist attacks when suddenly more than 100 jihadists showed up on motorcycles and shot at people, civilians and soldiers alike. Among the victims there would be women, children and the elderly.”

The Bishop of Kaya, Bishop Théophile Nare, described the attack as a “tragedy of unprecedented dimensions since the beginning of the terrorist attacks” and called for three days of prayer to “reparate all attacks on human life” in which The blood of innocent people has been spilled.

The jihadist attack of August 25 in Burkina Faso

ACN also reported that jihadists murdered 26 men inside a Christian church. Among the victims of Islamic extremists were also Catholics.

The massacre occurred on August 25, in the midst of an attack on the town of Sanaba, in western Burkina Faso.

ACN reports that the jihadists surrounded the town, rounded up its inhabitants, tied up all the Christian men over 12 years old, took them to a nearby Christian church and slit their throats.

ACN sources indicate that due to the violence of Islamic extremists “about 5,000 women and children have sought refuge in the city of Nouna”, in the northwestern part of the country, near the border with Mali.

According to the pontifical foundation, since May 2024, approximately 100 Christians have been murdered in the northwestern area of ​​Burkina Faso, while “others have been kidnapped, with no news of their whereabouts.”

In the Diocese of Nouna, which includes towns such as Sanaba and Zekuy, “a large number of Catholic, Protestant and animist places of worship have been destroyed or burned in recent months,” indicates ACN.