A pastor and 23 other worshippers were on Sunday killed by gunmen in a church in north west of Burkina Faso.
The governor of the region, Salfo Kabore, disclosed this on Monday, saying some “armed terrorists” entered Pansi in Yagha province and “attacked the peaceful local population after having identified them and separated from them non-residents.”
Kabore said, “The provisional toll is 24 killed, including the pastor…18 wounded and individuals who were kidnapped.”
The West African country has been facing attack from insurgents since 2015. No fewer than 700 people have been killed while close to a million people were displaced from their homes.
Christians have been the main targets of the attacks in the northern part of the country.
A group, Open Doors USA, last month ranked Burkina Faso 28th out of 50 countries of the world where Christians are most persecuted.
The country also ranked 12 among African nations 17 others where Christians are most persecuted.
The group said Burkina Faso rose from number 33 spot in the ranking last year to number 28 this year. The north eastern part of the country has been grappling with extremist violence since 2016.
In recent times, churches have been attacked while pastors and priests have been killed.
The attacks have induced tension between Christians and Muslims.
Gunmen attacked a mosque during Friday prayers leaving 15 worshippers dead.
It could not be ascertained those responsible for Sunday’s attack though militant groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State seeking to control rural peace thus aggravating ethnic and religious conflict.