Fr. Jacques Yaro Zerbo a 67-year-old priest was yet another victim of terrorism in Burkina Faso. In addition to him, 28 civilians were killed between December 30 and 31.
Newsroom(05/01/2023 06:57, Gaudium Press) Another Catholic priest has become a victim of terrorist violence on African soil. Fr. Jacques Yaro Zerbo, 67, was killed on Monday, January 2, by unidentified gunmen in Soro, in the Boucle du Mouhoun region in northwest Burkina Faso.
The announcement of the death was made by Bishop Prosper Bonaventure KY, Bishop of Dédougou. Fr. Jacques Yaro Zerbo was born on December 28, 1956 in Kolongo, now Mali, and was ordained a priest on July 19, 1986 in Dédougou.
With about 15 million inhabitants, Burkina Faso is an Islamic majority country (48.6%), with about 17% Christians, mostly Catholics. Located in the Sahel, most of its territory is situated in an arid region on the edge of the Sahara desert in West Africa. Its territory is landlocked and bordered by Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Niger.
Sahel: Key Point for Criminal Organizations
The Sahel is a transitional, semi-arid region between the Sahara and the savannas, expanding from the West Coast of the African Continent (Senegal and Mauritania) to the East Coast (Sudan and Eritrea). The Arabic term Sahel means coast and acts as a belt that divides the continent in two, the mostly Islamic Africa to the north and the Christian Africa to the south.
Encompassing at least eleven countries, the region is home to dozens of ethnic groups. Although today one does not have such clear divisions, traditionally these groups are divided between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. Today the Sahel is an extremely volatile region, impacted by several crises, such as: global warming, ethnic cleansing, and the terrorist threat. With weak states and porous borders, the region is a key point for criminal organizations and prone to migratory crises.
With increasing Muslim radicalization, several extremist organizations have gained strength in the region. Since 2015, terrorist groups close to “Islamic State” and Al Qaeda have increased their activities in the Sahel.
The Land of Decent Men
The name Burkina Faso, adopted by the government in 1984 to replace Alto Volta. The name is a new word coined from terms that, in local languages, mean “Land of Dignified Men”.
According to the International Catholic Association Aid to the Church in Need (AIN), in recent years religious persecution has grown alarmingly in Burkina Faso. The Boucle du Mouhoun region where Fr. Zerbo was murdered is one of the regions hardest hit by terrorism.
The country has quickly moved from 61st to 28th place on the world list of countries that persecute Christians the most, with numerous records of murders and destruction of churches. Christian groups must declare that they will not celebrate weddings or Christian holidays in areas subject to jihadist attacks.
Ex-Muslim Christians are the most persecuted group, being rejected by their own family and community members who try to force them to renounce their Christian faith.
“Our Answer to the Kalashnikov is Prayer!”
On October 2, 2022, during the opening ceremony of Mission Month, the Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Cardinal Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo, stated, “Our answer to the Kalashnikov (AK-47, or AK as it is officially known) is prayer.”
In early July 2022, an attack in Bourasso, near Dédougou, the capital of Kossi Province, Boucle du Mouhoun region, left about 30 dead. A priest, from Nouna Cathedral, whose identity cannot be disclosed for security reasons, said that the terrorists killed 14 people in front of the church: “We are terrified. All these people have nothing to do with politics or these terrorist groups, they are attacked even though they have nothing to defend themselves with it, really it is chaos.
The priest said that he himself narrowly escaped a terrorist ambush in the area on May 9. “I am very sad, I knew almost all the victims. Here, when we get up, we know we are alive, but we don’t know if we will still be alive at night,” he said.
Compiled by Florence MacDonald
