Several gunman burst into a Catholic Church Sunday morning in north-central Burkina Faso, killing six, including the church’s priest as he celebrated Mass.
The gunman then burned the church, the BBC reports, as well as nearby shops and stands, and a government health office.
“The attackers opened fire on the faithful at the beginning of Mass in the village of Dablo, 90 km from Kaya,” France24 radio reported early Sunday morning, adding that the group of gunman may have included as many as “twenty to thirty men.”
“Towards 9:00am, during mass, armed individuals burst into the Catholic Church,” the mayor of Dablo, Ousmane Zongo, told international press in a statement. “They started firing as the congregation tried to flee.”
“They burned down the church, then shops and a small restaurant before going to the health centre where they searched the premises and set fire to the head nurse’s vehicle,” Zongo added. “The city is filled with panic. People are holed up at home. Shops and stores are closed. It’s practically a ghost town.” – READ MORE