06/30/2021 Burkina Faso (International Christian Concern) – In a recent interview with Catholic News Service (CNS), 34-year-old Jessica Sinare shared her agony over the loss of her beloved husband, who was killed on June 4^th during Burkina Faso’s deadliest attack in recent history.

“I want my husband. I need him now,” Jessica told CNS through tears, “They’ve broken my heart and I will never forgive them. They killed him in front of my kids.”

An estimated 160 civilians were killed in the attack, where jihadists raided the northern village of Yagha over a period of three hours, burning down homes and shooting indiscriminately at men, women, and children.

“Who is going to provide food and education for my children?” Jessica asked onlookers. “I will never go back there. I don’t want my children to die. The attackers are targeting Christian villages.”

“I want to ask people to continue praying for me and my children so we may have strength. Life is not easy here.”

While the devastation caused by this single atrocity garnered global attention, jihadist violence has been steadily increasing in Africa’s Sahel region and attacks have become routine.

“People are dying every week,” Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a medical-humanitarian organization working in the Sahel region stated in a press release. “Many are afraid to sleep at night. Some leave their beds and go to hide in the bush for fear of being attacked.”

Please pray for Jessica, for the Lord to comfort her grieving heart and give her strength. Continue to pray for Burkina Faso and for the end of Islamic extremism and for those who engage in horrendous crimes against humanity, that they will experience the love of Jesus and be guided from darkness to light. Please also pray for the Lord to protect and strengthen the persecuted church, and to provide healing to all of those affected by violence.

For interviews, please contact Addison Parker: [email protected].