Attack on Burkina Faso mosque wounds 6, says government
An unknown assailant threw a flammable bottle into a
mosque in Burkina Faso's capital, wounding six people, the government spokesman
said Sunday.
Investigations into the Friday evening attack are
ongoing, Remis Fulgance Dandjinou told The Associated Press.
Security Minister Ousseni Compaore visited the site
of the Friday evening attack and met with the victims on Saturday, according to
a Facebook post from the ministry.
A 30-year-old woman who arrived at the mosque for
evening prayers shortly after the attack told AP that people were crying and
some were lying on the ground with burns. She spoke on condition of anonymity
for fear of her safety.
A note left on the ground nearby said: “Close the
mosque or we’ll launch grenades at you," she said.
Burkina Faso has been reeling from attacks linked to
al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group for five years. More than 2,100 people
have been killed this year due to violence, seven times larger than the number
from two years ago, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data
Project.
Burkina Faso experts say that years of extremist
violence could be fueling anti-Islamic sentiment.
“The attack represents emerging signs of divisions
observed in areas of conflict now spreading to the capital and manifesting in
violence with an Islamophobic dimension,” said Heni Nsaibia, a Sahel
researcher.
Others worry the attack signifies the government’s
inability to secure the country, two weeks before presidential and legislative
elections.
“The attack signifies that security and intelligence
services are not sufficient in Ouagadougou, said Siaka Coulibaly, with the
Center for Public Policy Monitoring by Citizens. “This incident will increase
fear and make people more afraid."
