A soldier standing guard in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso has seen an increase in attacks by jihadist groups in recent years. Photograph: Joe Penney/Reuters

Six people were killed during a Catholic mass in Burkina Faso

Security sources and local official said that a priest and five churchgoers were killed during mass on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso by gunmen.

Ousmane Zongo, the city hall leader of the northern town of Dablo said that during the mass at 9 am, the gunmen started firing as the congregation tried to escape. Zongo added that the attackers trapped some of the worshippers and killed five of them along with the priest who was celebrating the mass.

The church, several shops, and a small café were burnt down by the attackers before they plundered the local health center and burning the chief nurse’s vehicle.

“There is an atmosphere of panic in the town. People are holed up in their homes, nothing is going on. The shops are closed. It’s practically a ghost town,” said Zongo.

The assault came two days after four foreign prisoners in the north of the country were freed by French special forces which cost the lives of two soldiers. The attacked area then was combed through by security reinforcements who were sent from Barsalogho, around 45 kilometers from south of Dablo.

Numbers of jihadist groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, Group to Support Islam and Muslims and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has progressively attacked Burkina Faso with lethal assaults.

According to AFP, almost 400 people have been slaughtered since 2015 and mostly in the attempt of hit-and-run raids.
The jihadist groups' target is both Muslim and Christian, principally in the north.

4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad have been deployed by the former colonial ruler France to attempt to flush out the jihadist groups.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/12/gunmen-kill-six-during-catholic-mass-dablo-burkina-faso