Nine people were killed when suspected jihadists attacked a mosque in northeastern Burkina Faso, local sources said Thursday.
“Nine killed in mosque attack in Burkina Faso,” AFP, January 12, 2023:
The attack happened at around nightfall on Wednesday in the village of Goulgountou in Burkina’s Sahel region, when assailants arrived on motorbikes and herded worshippers inside the mosque, a witness said.
“They separated out the women, children and elderly and then made sermons to try to convince worshippers of abandoning” their form of faith, the source said.
“A discussion even started up with the imam, and because he refused he was executed,” the source said.
“They tried to cut his throat, but he fought back, saying he wanted to die standing up, so the terrorists shot him in the head,” a local resident said, adding that he had attended the victims’ funeral on Thursday.
“Eight other worshippers, mainly community leaders, were shot dead in the same way.”