Gunmen attack Burkina Faso church

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Soldiers patrol outside a refugee camp in Dori, Burkina Faso. Associated Press/Photo by Olympia De Maismont/AFP

About 20 suspected extremists killed 24 people, including the pastor, at a Protestant church in Burkina Faso on Sunday. The attackers injured 18 and kidnapped three others in the town of Pansi in Yagha province, near the border with conflict-hit Niger. They burned down the church and looted oil and rice from the community before leaving on their motorbikes.

What’s behind the attack? No group claimed responsibility, but such incidents are now common in the once peaceful country. On Feb. 2, at least 20 people died after an overnight attack on a village in northwestern Seno province.

Dig deeper: Read my report on how Christians and others in Burkina Faso are responding to the insurgency.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks