At least ten Christians were killed on 12 and 13 May as a spate of attacks on churches continued in northern Burkina Faso.
The attacks came two weeks after gunmen raided a Protestant church in Sirgadji village in the north-eastern province of Soum. Since February two other pastors have lost their lives in different attacks. Elie Zoré, 48, leader of the Assemblies of God Church of Bouloutou, near the main town of Arbinda in the far north, in the province of Soun, was killed in April.
Arbinda has become symbolic of the nas-cent Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso, as one of the areas most affected by it. The vio-lence involves the two main ethnic groups: the Fulani, accused of having ties with ter-rorist groups including the Ansar ul Islam and members of the Kouroumba group. Some 30 people died in the intercommunal clashes in the town, while another 32 people were killed in terrorist attacks.
