Burkina Faso* is going through a dark period. On 24 August 2024, while the people of the village of Barsalogho, some 150 km from the capital Ouagadougou, were working together, they were attacked by terrorist assailants. More than 100 civilians and soldiers were killed. Around 150 people were injured. 
The following day, Sunday 25 August 2024, while the country was mourning its dead, another attack took place in a village called Kounla in the north-west of the country. This massacre took place in a church, killing 26 men. After ordering the women and children out of the church, the terrorists executed 26 men. 
The pastor of this church, who had studied with one of our pastors at the Maranatha Institute in Bobo-Dioulasso, was killed. 
These cruel acts have a profoundly traumatic effect on women, children and many others. Let us pray for healing. 
—Siaka Traoré, MWC regional representative, Central and West Africa. 
*Burkina Faso was ranked first on the Global Terrorism Index in 2023.  
Photo: Karla Braun