Day 8
Burkina Faso
Fifty thousand Burkinabe civilians have joined the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland to fight the violent extremists currently occupying nearly half of the country. The recruitment campaign was launched in October 2022 by Burkina Faso’s authorities after the recent coup. The military authorities intend to assign 35,000 VDPs in their residential communities and the remainder alongside the country’s Security and Defence Forces nationwide. The use of civilian auxiliaries to support the security forces in the fight against terrorism has been tested since 2020. Pray for unity and effective collaboration between the security forces and the VDP and citizens to participate in the war effort by making in-kind or cash contributions. Pray that escalation in terrorism will be nullified by divine intervention of God and for people to turn to God (The Bible, Psalm 143:12).
Source:
Burkina Faso stays in 32nd position in the World Watch report 2022 by Open Doors for Christian persecution. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is the interim president. sworn in on 16 February. On March 1, 2022. Burkina Faso is Africa’s fourth largest gold producer. It has so much potential, but the country also has the world’s fourth-lowest rating on the UN’s human development index. The country continues to struggle economically as well as with corruption. Disease, malnutrition, and low education levels are major issues. Freedom does exist in religion. In the Sahel region, Islamist extremist groups have a huge and growing influence. Jihadist violence has been rapidly increasing in recent years and militants have taken control of large parts of the eastern region. This has led to numerous attacks on Churches and hundreds of Church closures.
