Over the weekend of February 24-25, 2024, Burkina Faso witnessed a series of terrorist attacks resulting in several dozen casualties, including attacks targeting both Christian and Muslim religious gatherings.
Among these attacks, one of the deadliest occurred on Sunday during the early morning prayer in Natiaboani, a commune in the southeast of Burkina Faso. As residents made their way to the mosque at 5:00 AM, they came under fire from terrorists.
The attack resulted in dozens of fatalities, predominantly men. The Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) – civilian auxiliaries of the army involved in the fight against jihadists – and military personnel in Natiaboani also faced heavy gunfire from automatic weapons before the assailants fled the scene.
On the same Sunday, attacks were also carried out in Kongoussi in the North against the 16th Rapid Intervention Battalion, in Tankoualou in the East against a military detachment, and against another military battalion in Ouahigouya in the Northwest of the country.
Additionally, there was a targeted attack on a church in Essakane, located in the North of Burkina Faso. During Sunday religious service, armed individuals assaulted worshippers.
According to a statement from the Diocese of Dori, the toll stands at fifteen fatalities and two injured individuals. Among the wounded is the priest who was conducting the Sunday mass and was subsequently evacuated to Gorom Hospital.