07/29/2022 Burkina Faso (International Christian Concern)- Increased attacks from Islamic extremists have severely affected one Catholic diocese, Fada N’ Gourma, in Burkina Faso. The attacks have caused the closures of several churches in the diocese and have left priests unable to minister to 95% of their parishioners.
The diocese of Fada N’Gourma released a report about the increase in robberies, kidnappings, and murders in the eastern part of Burkina Faso, where the diocese is located. Five of the 16 churches in the diocese have been attacked by Islamic extremists, leading to the closure of those churches. Seven other churches face ministry hindrances from the destruction of telephone communications and the control of land routes by extremists.
The national director of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Dr. Caroline Hull, reported on the situation that the diocese faces. “ACN seeks to meet both the spiritual and material needs of those we support, so we will be doing everything we can to help the suffering Christian communities in the diocese of Fada N’Gourma. Across all of Africa – particularly the Sahel region where Burkina Faso is – jihadism is growing and, with that, Christian persecution. Christians are murdered, people are abducted, women are raped and treated terribly.”
Within the Fada N’Gourma region, it has been reported that some Catholic church services are often monitored by the extremists, who ensure that men and women do not sit together in the services.
Please pray for the Fada N’Gourma diocese in Burkina Faso and peace in the region.
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