A Church leader in Burkina Faso is fearing the "elimination" of Christians from the country as attacks by Islamist extremists continue unabated.
The president of the Episcopal Conference of Burkina Faso and Niger, Bishop Laurent Dabiré, told Aid to the Church in Need that in one attack in the village of Bani, in northeast Burkina Faso, the victims were killed because they were wearing crucifixes.
"The Islamists arrived and forced everybody to lie face down on the ground," he said of the attack, which occurred on June 27.
"Then they searched them. Four people were wearing crucifixes. So they killed them because they were Christians."
Other villagers were then told that they would be killed too if they did not convert to Islam, he says.
It is the fifth such attack against Christians recorded by ACN this year.
"At first, they were only active in the frontier region between Mali and Niger," Dabiré said. "But slowly they have moved into the interior of the country, attacking the army, civil structures, and the people."
Around 60 per cent of the population in Burkina Faso is Muslim, while Christians account for around a fifth and are mainly Catholic.
For years, they have lived in peace but the bishop fears that the extremists are trying to stoke conflict between the country's different religious groups.
"Today their main target appears to be the Christians and I believe they are trying to trigger an interreligious conflict," said Bishop Dabiré.
He said that some people were attracted to the radical groups because they did not have many employment opportunities.
"They include youths who have joined the jihadists because they have no money, no work and no prospects, but there are also radicalized elements who are involved in these movements which they see as the expression of their Islamic faith," he said.
