Gunmen have killed six people including a priest [1] as Mass was being celebrated in a church in Dablo in northern Burkina Faso, officials say.
The attackers, said to number between 20 and 30, then burned down the church.
The town’s mayor, Ousmane Zongo, said that armed individuals burst into the Catholic church during mass and started firing as the congregation tried to flee. He added that there was panic as other buildings were burned down and a health centre looted.
Security sources told AFP that reinforcements were being sent from Barsalogho, some 45km (30 miles) to the south.
A local journalist told the BBC those killed included church elders and that residents were angry that soldiers in a nearby base did not respond promptly.
Jihadist violence has flared in Burkina Faso since 2016, and this is the third attack on a church in five weeks.