Burkina Faso: 14 people killed in a church attack in the eastern state

Armed forces attacked worshipers during Sunday mass, in another deadly attack in the rifted state of West Africa. The security situation has deteriorated in the area in recent months, and hundreds have been killed

Burkina Faso: 14 people killed in a church attack in the eastern state

(In video: 13 killed in French Army helicopter accident in Mali)

At least 14 people were killed yesterday as gunmen opened fire at a church in Burkina Faso. According to a statement from local authorities in Natokura in the eastern state, dozens of other worshipers were injured in the shooting that took place at Mass.

The identity of the attackers is unknown, but hundreds of people have been killed in the rifted state of West Africa in recent times, most of them by terrorist organizations affiliated with al-Qaeda and the "Islamic State" (ISIS).

A security official told the French news agency that the gunmen executed worshipers, including the priest, as well as children. Another official said the attackers fled the scene on scooters.

Terrorist attacks in the country have intensified since 2015, sparking it from ethnic and religious tensions. Last month, 15 people were killed in an attack on a mosque.

The conflict spread beyond the neighboring Mali border, which North was occupied by terrorist organizations before the French military intervened in the country in 2013 and pushed them away, but the security situation has also deteriorated in recent times.

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French forces join forces in northern Burkina Faso last month (Photo: AFP)

French forces join forces in northern Burkina Faso, November 14, 2019 (Photo: AFP, GettyImages)