Ouagadougou: In order to promote religious tolerance during Ramadan and Lent while Burkina Faso struggles with a violent insurgency, hundreds of young Burkinabe Muslims and Christians gathered in Ouagadougou's public square as the sun set to break fast together.

At the event, Muslims and Christians ate together and prayed together as a symbolic act against militant forces looking to take advantage of racial and religious divisions, according to participants. It was organized by a local interfaith youth group.

One of the main organizers of the event and a Catholic named Wenkouni Damien Ouedraogo said, "Many evils in the society will be completely over if two groups from different religions manage to live together."

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To be able to embrace the other as truly a part of oneself, he continued, "We must go beyond our religions."

A number of West African nations, including Burkina Faso, are dealing with an insurgency that began in Mali's neighboring country and has spread throughout the region over the past ten years.

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In the Sahel region south of the Sahara, militant groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh have used ethnic and religious divisions to their advantage, resulting in thousands of deaths and more than 2 million displaced people.

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According to a 2019 government census, about 24 percent of Burkinabes identify as Christians and about 64 percent of them practice Islam.

One of the Muslim event organizers, Mamadi Ouedraogo, said, "To those who regrettably took up arms against the country, we hope that our message of hope can soften their hearts." "This is for our benefit, for our advancement, and for maintaining national security and peace."