Burkina Faso: At least 15 killed in attack on Catholic church in Tombouctou region

At least 15 Catholic worshippers have been killed in a Burkina Faso village when gunmen attacked a community as they gathered for mass at a church in the country’s conflict-hit northern region, church officials said.

Sunday’s violence in the village of Essakane was a “terrorist attack” that left 12 attendees dead at the scene, while three others died later as they were being treated for their wounds, according to a statement issued by Abbot Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, vicar-general of the Catholic Diocese of Dori, where the attack happened.