A Burkina Faso pastor and seven other Christians reportedly released by their kidnappers in June are in fact still in captivity.
Pastor Pierre Boéna was kidnapped by armed men on 3 June – alongside his younger son, daughter-in-law, two grandsons, a member of his church and her two twin daughters – in the village of Bilhoré near the Mali border.
In July the eldest son of the kidnapped pastor, Baowend-Som Boéna, confirmed that the hostages have not been released.
He said: ‘We only rely on God and the support of the government in order to obtain the release of my father and the other hostages.’
