No fewer than 14 people, including teenagers, have died after some gunmen attack a church they were worshipping in in Burkina Faso during Sunday mass.

Several other people were wounded in the attack which took place in the village of Foutouri in the Est region of the country.

The identity of the gunmen is not yet clear but the area has come under attack over the past year from suspected jihadist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore tweeted:

“I condemn the barbaric attack against the Protestant Church of Hantoukoura in the department of Foutouri, which left 14 dead and several wounded.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”

An Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso this year has ignited ethnic and religious tensions, leaving large parts of the country ungovernable, especially in northern areas bordering Mali.

Last month, gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses carrying mineworkers in the East region, killing 39 people.

-NAN