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Burkina Faso

• Six Slain for Refusing to Convert

  

  After attending a meeting on April 28th, Pastor Pierre Ouédraogo, 80, and other church members were talking together in the church courtyard when gunmen on motorcycles suddenly stormed in. The armed assailants demanded that the believers deny their Christian faith. Bibles and mobile phones were seized and the Christians were then taken one at a time behind the building where they were each shot. In total, six Christians died that day for refusing to convert to Islam. One other, Adama Sawadogo, was injured but thankfully his condition is not considered life-threatening.

• Thousands Call for Release of Kidnapped Doctor
  
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  On January 15th, thousands took to the streets of Djibo, a town located in the province of Soum, to call for the government to secure the release of an elderly Australian doctor, Ken Elliott, who was kidnapped two years ago. The abduction was claimed by the 'Emirate of the Sahara,' a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb region of North Africa.

  Dr. Elliott and his wife Jocelyn had run a 120-bed clinic in Djibo for 40 years until their abduction. Although Jocelyn was released in February of 2016, she did not want to leave Burkina Faso. (An audio recording presented by members of the militant group explained that Jocelyn was released because they did not want women involved in the war.)

• Mission Workers Fatally Wounded by Terrorists

  
    The victims were aiding in the construction of a school.

  On January 15th, attackers linked with Al-Qaeda murdered 29 people from 18 countries before being stopped by Burkina Faso and French security forces. Six of the victims were Canadian citizens on a humanitarian trip prompted by their Christian faith, four of whom are from the same family. A seventh Christian victim was a U.S. missionary.