Burkina Faso: Priest calls for prayer after three new terrorist attacks 

Terrorism in eastern Burkina Faso has shaken the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma. Attacks in the parishes of Piéla and Saatenga caused many deaths and significant material destruction, and follow a pattern of terrorist violence that the country has seen since 2015.

“The attacks are multiplying. We ask for your fervent prayer. Pray for the victims and for the fearful survivors,” asked a priest from the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma, speaking to the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).  

At the beginning of October, at least 150 people were killed by terrorists in Manni, in the same diocese. And on October 20th, Ziéla and Kombembgo, two villages from the Saatenga parish in southeastern Fada N’Gourma, were attacked by about 100 terrorists. In Ziéla, the terrorists appeared at around 10 A.M. While residents were going about their business after Sunday prayer, shots were fired. The men immediately tried to flee and hide because, as a local source explained to ACN, the terrorists “principally attack men of fighting age, and not women, children, or old people”. However, “a young Christian girl who wanted to run away from her house tragically lost her life, killed in error, as the terrorists mistook her for an adult,” said a source, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. 

According to the same source, the terrorists set fire to many houses, belonging to both Christians and Muslims. The targeted houses included one belonging to the catechist, who was outside the village when the attack took place. His wife, who had stayed home with their three young children, was mishandled, and their home was pillaged and then burned. “The family is safe and sound, and the fact that the husband was absent saved his life,” said the source.

Catechists in Burkina Faso are currently on the front line of violence. In many villages, they are charged with overseeing the faithful, and not all of them have the same luck as the catechist from Ziéla. “Barely six months ago, Édouard Yougbaré, a catechist in Pouargoguin, four miles from Saatenga, was brutally killed, leaving behind a widow and eight children. His last words were: ‘Lord Jesus, come and save me! Lord Jesus, come and save me!’” recalls ACN’s source.  

That same Sunday, October 20th, Kombembgo, a village just seven miles away from Saatenga, was likewise targeted by terrorists. According to information gathered by ACN, three members of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP in French) and a civilian died in the attack.  

The VDP, civilians who collaborate with the national armed forces, play a crucial role in the defense of unprotected rural communities, where the Burkinabe army finds it hard to intervene. “Thanks to the rapid reaction of the VDP, which was able to eliminate some terrorists, they didn’t have time to set fire to the houses in Kombembgo,” explained the source. However, the involvement of the VDP carries big risks. This was demonstrated in an attack in Piéla, roughly 93 miles from Saatenga, in northern Fada N’Gourma, on October 19th. The village was attacked by more than 100 terrorists, who killed approximately 13 people, including two members of the VDP and a Catholic woman.   

This raid seems to have been carried out as a reprisal for the people’s support of the VDP. “The women had offered a motorbike to the VDP for their struggle for peace, an action which displeased the terrorists,” said a local source. “The attackers also set fire to 16 houses, all belonging to Catholic families, and unfortunately situated on a hill, which enabled the terrorists to approach Kouri without being detected in time.” Essential infrastructure, like the clinic, the chemist, and the VDP post were likewise destroyed. The village’s two catechists were able to escape and are now internally displaced. 

Kouri had already been a terrorist target. In an attack on June 1st, 2024, people were killed and houses were burned, which led to the VDP being set up to reinforce local security. 

One priest in the area called for prayer for the victims and peace. “Let us implore the Lord for peace to return to our country, and to all countries being struck daily by murderous attacks, including Mali and Niger, and to nations at war like Ukraine, Israel, and Lebanon. May the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi guide us: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me bring love.’” 

These tragedies underline the urgency of the security situation in Burkina Faso, where terrorist attacks began in 2015 and continue to ravage communities, leaving in their wake more than two million internally displaced people.