According to Burkina Faso's Bishop of Dori Diocese, Laurent Birfuoré Dabiré, militants attacked the few remaining faithful in the area. Jihadist groups are known to hide in the area, and many villagers have fled the area.

"The attack took place around 08.30 am on Sunday, February 25. The jihadists broke into the small village church where a Sunday Prayer Service was taking place -under the direction of the Catechist.

In fact, since 2018, the majority of the community of believers have been forced to flee due to the violence of jihadist groups. Few people are left who, in the absence of a permanent priest, gather on Sundays for a Prayer Service led by a Catechist."

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Maria Lozano of the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) described the phenomenon as "a beautiful message of faith."

In a conversation with Crux, Lozano said she has had conversations with clerics in Burkina Faso who tell her that the people know that "their lives are in danger" and are, therefore, more motivated to revert to Christianity as a preparation for eternal life should the worst happen.

"They face terrorism, so they believe the best way out is to become Christians," Lozano told Crux.

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Then, in an instant, she looked down at her feet, where one of her toenails had been battered and bloodied during a harrowing post-kidnapping motorcycle ride deep into the forests of West Africa, after which she was turned over to a rival Muslim group.

Her new captor saw her gouged toe and, inexplicably, began washing her feet.

"I'm sitting there, and this Muslim man is washing my feet. And I said, ‘God, is something going on here?' It was like God was using him in some kind of way. I was just taken aback," Sister Suellen said in a 13 September interview with the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

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The world is carrying in its heart "the pain of these terrorist attacks," Francis told the crowd in St Peter's Square on Sunday, before leading them in prayer for the victims.

Nineteen people have died so far as a result of a terrorist attack in Burkina Faso on 13 August. Two gunmen killed nine locals and nine foreigners as they dined on the terrace of the restaurant, and a policeman has subsequently died.

No group has claimed responsibility but Burkina Faso has witnessed a string of such attacks attributed to Islamist extremists, including Al-Qaeda

On 17 August, two terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the seaside resort of Cambrils killed 14 people and injured 130.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for these attacks, which Spanish security forces believe were conducted by a jihadist cell of at least 12 people.

A third attack happened last Friday August when a man armed with a knife killed two women and injured eight people from at least Finland. This was the first terrorist attack of this sort in Finland.

The Finnish police shot and arrested the attacker, an 18-year-old Moroccan.

Source

• Firstpost
• America Magazine
• Image: Daily Express