Saudi Arabia has condemned a terror attack on a church in northeast Burkina Faso in which 24 people were killed and three kidnapped.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom'scondolences to families of the victims, and the government and people ofBurkina Faso, and reiterated its rejection of violence, terrorism andextremism.
On Sunday, gunmen killed 24 people, including a churchpastor, and kidnapped three others in Burkina Faso. It was the latest attackagainst a religious leader in the increasingly unstable West African nation.Sihanri Osangola Brigadie, mayor of Boundore commune, said the attack occurredin the town of Pansi in Yagha province.
About 20 attackers separated men from women outside a Protestantchurch. At least 18 people were injured.
"It hurt me when I saw the people," Brigadie said after visitingsome victims in a hospital in Dori town, 180 km from the attack.
Both Christians and Muslims were killed before the church was seton fire, a government security official said. Attacks have targeted religiousleaders in the area in the past.
Last week a retired pastor was killed and another abducted by gunmen,according to an internal security report for aid workers.
More than 1,300 civilians were killed in attacks last year inBurkina Faso, more than seven times the previous year, according to ArmedConflict Location and Event Data Project, which collects and analyzes conflictinformation.
The insecurity has created a humanitarian crisis. More than760,000 people have been forced from their homes in the country, according tothe government.
