An attack on a mosque in eastern Burkina Faso has killed dozens of Muslims on the same day as another deadly attack on Catholics attending mass, local and security sources told AFP on Monday.
According to local and security sources, the victims were mostly men who had come for morning prayers.
“Armed individuals attacked a mosque in Natiaboani on Sunday around 5:00 am, resulting in several dozen being killed,” the security source revealed.
A local source characterized the incident as a “significant-scale assault” based on the number of attackers involved, who also inflicted considerable destruction.
The source said, “The terrorists entered the town early morning. They surrounded the mosque and shot at the faithful, who were gathered there for the first prayer of the day.”
“Several of them were shot, including an important religious leader,” the source added.
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On the same day as the attack on the mosque, a senior church official reported that at least 15 civilians were killed and two others injured during an attack on a Catholic church while Sunday mass was underway in northern Burkina Faso.
In a statement, Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, the vicar of the Dori diocese, disclosed that the “terrorist attack” took place in the village of Essakane as worshippers assembled for Sunday prayers.
Natiaboani is a rural community about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Fada N’Gourma, the main town in Burkina’s eastern region, which has seen regular attacks by armed groups since 2018, while Essakane village is in what is known as the “three borders” zone in the northeast of the country, near the common borders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. #Dozens
