Burkina Faso churchgoers under fire during worship

The latest attack in Burkina Faso left 14 worshippers at a Protestant church dead on Sunday. The once calm African nation, landlocked between war-torn Mali and Niger, has seen an increase in insurgent violence.

What’s behind the attack? Violence against Christians is on the rise in Burkina Faso. Suspected extremists have killed more than 500 people since last year and displaced nearly 500,000 others. Last month, at least 37 people died in an attack on a convoy carrying employees of a Canadian mining company. Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore condemned Sunday’s attack and sent his “deepest condolences to the bereaved families and [wished] a speedy recovery to the wounded.”

Dig deeper: Read my report in World Tour on the persistent insurgent attacks in Burkina Faso.