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Terrorism continues to plague eastern Burkina Faso, where the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma has been attacked several times in 2024, leaving hundreds dead. It has been nearly a decade since terrorist violence became so commonplace in Burkina Faso, where it is now estimated nearly 2 million people – predominantly Christians – have been internally displaced.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is drawing attention to three attacks, which took place in October, the first of which left at least 150 people dead in the town of Manni. Just weeks later, the towns of Ziéla and Kombembgo came under assault by a group of around 100 terrorists on the same day. The attack on Ziéla came around 10 a.m., catching the Christian community off guard after Sunday prayer.
While the report did not indicate how many died in the Ziéla attack, it did note that the terrorists shot and killed a young Christian girl who was mistaken for an adult male. The terrorists rampaging through Burkina Faso do not tend to kill women or children, but they will go after men of fighting age on sight.
The attacks seem to always go the same way: dozens of assailants ride into town on motorcycles, they shoot any man they see and then loot the houses before burning any building they can and ride off. So far, the best deterrent for local communities has been the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP in French), a civilian group that works with the armed forces to defend rural communities.
The VDP is more able to rapidly respond to sudden assaults on local communities, but they are not as well funded or trained as the military. In the Kombembgo attack, the VDP’s response was able to prevent the terrorists from starting fires before they fled, as well as taking some of the terrorists down. Their efforts came at a cost, however, as three VDP members lost their lives in the defense.
While the VDP is a deterrent, its existence has also angered the terrorist groups, leading them to attack the people over their support of the VDP. An anonymous source told ACN of an instance in which “attackers also set fire to 16 houses, all belonging to Catholic families” after a woman donated a motorbike to the VDP. The attack also took out essential facilities like the clinic, the pharmacy, and the local VDP post.
Still, the Christians of Burkina Faso continue to hold fast to their faith and pray for peace in these uncertain times. One priest, who stayed anonymous, shared a prayer for peace with ACN:
“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.’”
