Gunmen open fire, kill five in Burkina Faso church

Gunmen have opened fire on a church in northern Burkina Faso, killing at least six people, officials say.

The attackers reportedly arrived on seven motorbikes at the end of Sunday's service and killed the pastor, two of his sons and three other worshippers.

It was the first attack on a church since sectarian violence erupted in the West African nation. Muslim leaders and imams have also come under attack.

Fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as the local Ansarul Islam, have been active.

Sunday's attack on the Protestant church happened in the small town of Silgadji near Djibo, the capital of Soum province, at around 12:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

The number of attackers involved or their possible affiliations is not clear.

On Friday, five teachers were killed in the east of the country in another incident attributed to jihadists, our correspondent adds.

Meanwhile, the fate of a Catholic priest kidnapped a month ago remains unclear.

Burkina Faso has suffered from increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and those with links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).

The attacks started in the north of the country before targeting the capital Ouagadougou and other regions, notably the east of the country.

The United Nations says Burkina Faso is facing a full-blown humanitarian crisis, with almost a million people in need of urgent help.

Intercommunal violence and attacks by armed groups have forced tens of thousands from their homes in the past few months.

In February, a Spanish priest, Father Cesar Fernandez, was killed in a raid attributed to armed groups in Nohao in the center of the country.

In January, a Canadian national was kidnapped and killed after being abducted from a gold mine by armed fighters.