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Nine Killed In Burkina Faso Mosque Attack
Nine people were killed in an attack in a mosque in northeastern Burkina Faso by suspected Islamist militants, according to local sources.
Witnesses said the attack occurred around late Wednesday evening in the village of Goulgountou in Burkina’s Sahel region when attackers arrived on motorcycles and forced worshipers into a mosque.
“They separated out the women, children and elderly and then made sermons to try to convince worshippers of abandoning” their form of faith, the source said.
“They tried to cut his throat, but he fought back, saying he wanted to die standing up, so the terrorists shot him in the head,” a local resident said, adding that he had attended the victims’ funeral on Thursday.
“Eight other worshippers, mainly community leaders, were shot dead in the same way.”
Incessant Attacks
Goulgountou is located close to the gold mining town of Falagountou, which lies near the border with Niger.
The area has suffered several incursions by suspected jihadists since the start of the week, the sources said.
Thousands of people have died and more than two million people have fled their homes since jihadists began launching attacks on Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali in 2015.
More than a third of the country’s territory lies outside of government control.
The insurgency fuelled two coups last year among army officers angered at the rising toll.
The latest junta is headed by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who at 34 is the world’s youngest leader.
The truth is that killing innocent people is always wrong and no argument or excuse, no matter how deeply believed, can ever make it right. We sympathize with people of Burkina Faso on this terrible attack.
