The Voice of the suffering in Africa

Though a minority, the Church has always been a “safe harbor” for the population, and at the start of the war, . Now this refuge is fragile.

"I realized later that I had been quite lucky. The driver of the car immediately after mine was shot dead, and if the priest who had wanted to accompany me had been in the car, he almost certainly would have been killed as well."

According to information received by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the village was attacked in the early hours of Sunday, February 18th, leaving 11 dead, including five children, and seven injured.

"On the one hand, I am anxious, but on the other, I feel a deep trust in God. The strength to be a bishop does not come from myself, but from the Lord. I did not seek this ministry. Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you” (John 15:16).

We ask ourselves: how did this happen? Who is supporting them? Who is funding them? Some of them are Burkinabe, our brothers, and they don’t even cover their faces. But the question is why. Why are they kidnapping and killing people? Why are they coming to take our goods and animals, and burning villages?”

For now, the main concern has been finding shelter and support for the internally displaced. “They are fleeing villages that are reduced to ashes, and those whose villages might be next  are also running. The only thing they are sure of is the starting point… They are searching for a safe place; I don’t know where they will find it. Perhaps they will have to settle for the least unsafe.”