Gunmen killed at least six Christians in a Catholic church in the Burkinabe town of Dablo on Sunday. The worshippers were attending morning mass when at least 20 men surrounded them and shot six dead, according to a government statement.
"These terrorist groups are now attacking religion with the macabre aim of dividing us," the statement said.
"Towards 9 a.m. during mass, armed individuals burst into the Catholic church," the mayor of Dablo, Ousmane Zongo said. "They started firing as the congregation tried to flee."
The attackers then torched the church and set fire to a shop and two vehicles, in the second attack on Christians in as many weeks in a nation increasingly overrun by jihadis.
At the end of April, five Christians were killed in an attack on a Burkinabe Protestant church. The pastor was among those killed in the raid in the small town of Silgadji.
Both Dablo and Silgadji are in the north of Burkina Faso, which has suffered from increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of jihadi groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
Read more: Gunmen kill pastor, worshippers in Burkina Faso church
Angela Merkel with Burkina Faso's president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, in Ouagadougou
Merkel pledges support in fight against terrorism
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Burkina Faso earlier this month as part of a regional tour of West Africa.
Merkel pledged millions in financial support for the restive Sahel region shortly after meeting with Burkina Faso's president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, in the capital, Ouagadougou.
Germany will give an additional €20 million to Burkina Faso and over €35 million to Niger ($22.4 million and $39 million, respectively) to support development projects as well as the outfitting and training of police officers in each country, she said.
"We talked about the deteriorating security situation and we want to be on the side of Burkina Faso, especially in terms of cooperation on security," Merkel told reporters after a meeting with Kabore.
"This is necessary because in the east and north of the country there is a situation where children cannot go to school, where populations seem to live in insecurity. We need to end these problems as quickly as possible."
Over one-half of Burkina Faso's residents are Muslim, but Christians, most of them Catholics, make up some 30% of the population. The West African state has been struggling with jihadi violence since 2015.
Read more: Merkel kicks off West Africa tour pledging support in fight against terrorism
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Where do African refugees go?
Refugee numbers in Africa
There are over 30 million migrants in Africa: that includes refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees. The numbers increased in recent years, and DW found out that those leaving their home countries tend to go to the same destination. The South Sudanese child pictured here is one of many who found shelter in a refugee camp in Uganda.
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Where do African refugees go?
South Sudan
As of the end of January 2019, 2.28 million people from South Sudan had fled their country, via an international border. That is the highest number for any African country. Their main destination: neighboring Sudan. The South Sudanese refugee crisis is the largest in Africa and the third largest in the world, after Syria and Afghanistan. Many South Sudanese refugees are children.
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Where do African refugees go?
A long way to go
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the world. This remains a cause of tension and contributes to ongoing violence, which drives the displacement of people. Civilians suffer under the attacks of armed groups as well as from intercommunal clashes. Most are reported in North and South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika, Haut-Katanga, and Haut-Lomami.
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Where do African refugees go?
DR Congo
Hundreds of thousands of people fled the country up until 2019. While DR Congo has to deal with millions of internally displaced persons, many found refuge in neighboring countries. Uganda is their main country of refuge, and currently hosts some 2.3 million refugees from DR Congo. The reasons are also geographical, as Uganda shares borders with many crisis-torn regions.
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Where do African refugees go?
Somalians flee to Kenya
Somalia is troubled by ongoing civil strife which caused thousands to flee to neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya, and pushed many Somalis to the brink of starvation.The country lacks a unified central government. The extremist al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab controls much of southern Somalia, although African Union troops have seen major victories against the group.
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Where do African refugees go?
Somalia
The number of Somali refugees is almost as high as that of DR Congo refugees. But, the main destination for Somalians is Kenya. The Dadaab camp, a complex of three settlements, is one of the world's largest refugee camps. It was built to house 90,000 people but is now home to more than 200,000 people.
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Where do African refugees go?
One of the world's largest refugee camp
Across Africa, migrants are seeking a safe haven. Some find it in refugee camps like the world's biggest refugee settlement at Dadaab, Kenya, where they can stay for years and start new lives and families. This contributes to the rise in refugee numbers and explains how children can be born with refugee status.
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Where do African refugees go?
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960. Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the majority-Christian country in 2013. Under international pressure, Seleka handed power to a transitional government in 2014 but months of violence followed and the CAR was effectively partitioned.
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Where do African refugees go?
Struggling to emerge
Burundi is one of the world's poorest nations. After a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war, the country is still struggling to recover. The usually-dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority have failed to overcome tensions since the country gained independence in 1962. In 1994, a civil war between the two ethnic groups made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most persistent conflicts.
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Where do African refugees go?
Burundi
Burundi has been in another crisis since April 2015 after President Nkurunziza’s announcement that he would run for a third term. The economy has declined significantly due to political instability and insecurity. Human rights violations such as kidnappings and torture by the police, military, and the ruling party’s youth league persist.
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Where do African refugees go?
Between life and death
In Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, thousands of people have died in recent years in communal attacks led by the Islamist terror organization Boko Haram. At the same time, separatist aspirations grew and the imposition of Islamic law in several northern states has embedded divisions and caused thousands of Christians to flee, sometimes undertaking a dangerous journey across the desert.
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Where do African refugees go?
Nigeria
Conflict is the major driver of the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. In the northeast, Boko Haram has affected more than 14 million people. The group carries out attacks against the military and civilians in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states. Conflict between herders and farmers in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and southern states has been growing increasingly violent, killing and displacing thousands.
Author: Silja Fröhlich
kw/ng (AFP, dpa)
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