Burkina Faso: the Grand Imam of Djibo found assassinated

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In Burkina Faso, the lifeless body of the Grand Imam of Djibo was found on the morning of Saturday, August 15. Souaibou Cissé was kidnapped on Tuesday, August 11, on the Namsiguia-Djibo axis, a section of around thirty kilometers. He was returning from a trip to Ouagadougou.

Publicity

Imam Souaibou Cissé, 73 years old, was found murdered on Saturday morning August 15. The information was confirmed by his relatives.

The body was identified in Tiléré, a locality located 4 km from Djibo, on the very axis where the religious leader had been kidnapped, earlier this week.

According to witnesses, unidentified armed individuals stopped the public transport vehicle in which the imam was traveling. He is the only passenger who was taken away after an identity check.

Members of his entourage had told RFI that the latter had escaped an assassination attempt in May 2017 when shots were fired at his home. After this event, the imam's home was placed under the protection of the gendarmerie until the beginning of this year, when the protection was lifted.

No claim

Souaibou Cissé was also the president of the Muslim community in the province of Soum, in the Sahel region.

Neither his kidnapping nor his assassination has yet been claimed, but the jihadist track is privileged.

► See also:  Burkina Faso: armed men kidnap the grand imam of Djibo

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• Burkina Faso
• Terrorism
• Religion