Ouagadougou: - Nine people including an imam have been killed by extremists in two separate attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso, authorities say.

The governorate of the country's eastern region says six people including an imam were killed in one attack on a mosque in the community of Diabiga on Friday.

Soldiers examine burnt-out cars outside the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in 2016. Credit:AP

In a separate attack on Friday, three members of a family were shot dead in Kompienga province.

Until now, extremists in that part of the west African country have largely targeted security forces.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore recently announced the country would put an end to "destabilisation activity" in the east, where extremist attacks have been increasing.

Since then more troops have been sent to the region, where extremists use the forests as hideouts.

AP</s>At least eight civilians have been killed in twin attacks in eastern Burkina Faso, where armed groups have been gaining ground in recent months, according to local authorities.

"Two terror attacks were carried out in the villages of Diabiga and Kompienbiga" overnight in eastern Kompienga province, the regional governor said in a statement on Saturday.

In one of the attacks, the gunmen targeted the home of a religious leader who was killed along with four other people, an unnamed security source told the AFP news agency.

"Three people belonging to the same family were killed and another two injured by suspected jihadists on mopeds," according to another security source.

In March, at least 16 people, including eight fighters, were killed in coordinated attacks on the French embassy and army headquarters in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Last year, an al-Qaeda affiliated group attacked a restaurant in Ouagadougou, killing 19 people.

Since 2015, armed groups in the Sahel - an area traversing Central and West Africa - have staged a number of attacks in Burkina Faso.</s>At least eight civilians have been killed in twin attacks in eastern Burkina Faso, where jihadists have been gaining ground in recent months, local authorities said Saturday.

“Two terror attacks were carried out in the villages of Diabiga and Kompienbiga” overnight in eastern Kompienga province, claiming at least eight lives, the regional governor said in a statement.

An unnamed security source told AFP that one of the attacks had targeted the home of a religious leader who was killed along with four other people.

Meanwhile, “three people belonging to the same family were killed and another two injured by suspected jihadists on mopeds,” according to another security source.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has battled increased Islamist violence of the sort that plagues neighbouring Mali and Niger, and experts say the recent surge is likely the result of pressure on jihadist insurgents there.</s>OUAGADOUGOU (AFP) - At least nine civilians have been killed in twin attacks in eastern Burkina Faso, a poor West African country where Islamic militants have been gaining ground in recent months, local authorities said on Saturday (Sept 15).

"Two terror attacks were carried out in the villages of Diabiga and Kompienbiga" overnight on Friday in eastern Kompienga province, the regional governor said in an earlier statement.

An unnamed security source told AFP that one of the attacks had targeted the home of a Islamic religious leader and other Muslims.

"Five people including the leader were killed," he said, adding that three others were injured on the attack on the house which is next to a mosque.

One of the injured later succumbed to their wounds.

Meanwhile, "three people belonging to the same family were killed and another two injured by suspected jihadists on mopeds," according to another security source.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has battled increased Islamist violence of the sort that plagues neighbouring Mali and Niger, and experts say the recent surge is likely the result of pressure on militant insurgents there.

The capital Ouagadougou has been hit by three attacks over the past two years leaving a total of 60 people dead.

Last week, Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kabore promised new security measures "to eradicate the scourge of terrorism".</s>At least 9 killed in extremist attacks in Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Authorities in Burkina Faso say extremists have killed at least nine civilians in two attacks in the country's east.

The governorate of the eastern region says six people including an imam were killed in one attack on a mosque in the community of Diabiga. In Friday's other attack, three members of a family were shot dead in Kompienga province.

Until now, extremists in that part of the West African country have largely targeted security forces.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore recently announced that the country would put an end to "destabilization activity" in the east, where extremist attacks have been increasing.

Since then more troops have been sent to the region, where extremists use the forests as hideouts.</s>OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Authorities in Burkina Faso say extremists have killed at least eight civilians in two attacks in the country’s east.

The governorate of the eastern region says five people including an imam were killed in one attack on a mosque in the community of Diabiga. In Friday’s other attack, three members of a family were shot dead in Kompienga province.

Until now, extremists in that part of the West African country have largely targeted security forces.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore recently announced that the country would put an end to “destabilization activity” in the east, where extremist attacks have been increasing.

Since then more troops have been sent to the region, where extremists use the forests as hideouts.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The objective of Sweden’s international development cooperation is to create opportunities for people living in poverty and oppression to improve their living conditions. Development cooperation will be based on the principles of aid and development effectiveness, and the new international agreements reached by the international community in 2015.

Within the framework of this strategy, Swedish development cooperation with Burkina Faso is to contribute to greater respect for human rights, institutional capacity growth, increased resilience to crises and disasters, environmentally and climate-resilient sustainable development, and improved opportunities for sustainable livelihoods. The strategy will apply during the period 2018 –2022 and provide a total of SEK 1 500 million.</s>Wearing a black “Hate Hero” T-shirt, a large pair of headphones clamped over his ears, the young singer croons into a microphone at a simple recording studio inside a prison in Burkina Faso.

Known as Johnyto, the 25-year-old is serving two years for being an accomplice to robbery at an overcrowded prison known for its abysmal conditions in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina’s second city.

Here, he is one of 700 inmates, some of whom are looking on curiously as he works the synthesizer, the mixer and the amplifiers.

“School didn’t work out because I wanted to make music, but well, that didn’t take off… Many things happened before I wound up here,” admits the young singer, whose real name is Jonathan Sougue.

“But one day, I hope to become a real star and forget this life.”

And in March, Johnyto finally got the break he was looking for when he entered an audition run by Burkinabe reggae star Freeman Tapily who was looking for an inmate who could record an album behind bars.

In what could have been dubbed “Prison’s Got Talent” or perhaps “X-Factor Behind Bars”, four people in his jail vied for first place, and Johnyto, with his mix of rap and ballads, won.

Several months later, Tapily’s team came into the prison and set up a basic recording studio where Johnyto spent three days with them recording five songs, shooting a music video and taking a series of publicity shots.

The project is being jointly financed by the Burkinabe Office of Author’s Rights and by African Culture, an organisation owned by Tapily which invites well-known Burkinabe singers and musicians to perform at concerts inside prisons for free as a way of helping with the inmates’ rehabilitation.

“These projects are close to my heart,” Tapily told AFP.

He started the initiative in 2010 with a concert performed in front of 1,400 inmates at the MACO central prison in the capital, Ouagadougou.

“Now it’s 2018 and there are roughly 2,000 prisoners. It’s going up!” he said.

But what he really wants to see is the numbers falling — in a sign that the inmates are completing their sentences, getting out and getting on with normal lives.

“For the number to fall, we have to get on with rehabilitation. With rehabilitation, we will fight crime and repeat offences, that’s our battle,” he said.

“And in terms of rehabilitation, music can do a lot.”

Tapily has a lot of confidence that Johnyto can make it as a professional musician.

“Me, I make my living from music… and I think Johnyto’s talent is far greater than mine,” he told AFP.

“I think he can go beyond rehabilitation — he’ll definitely do that — but I think he could even help other people do the same,” he said, suggesting the young musician could even hire some of them to work with him.

The album, which is due to be released in December, has songs on it with lyrics in both French and Dioula, a local language also spoken in Ivory Coast and Mali.

And Johnyto has dedicated the main track — “I’m Sorry” — to his mum.

“I didn’t know how much you loved me / I’m sorry, yes mama, I’m sorry / I’m sorry to have caused you so much misery,” he sings.

Once the album is finished, Tapily’s team will burn 100 copies that Johnyto can distribute and sell himself, like most Burkinabe musicians do.

Although the prison administration itself doesn’t get involved in funding such external activities, it is happy to encourage them and to ensure the events go off as smoothly as possible.

For Pascal Yabre, regional head of prison security, rehabilitation of the inmates is a top priority.

“The aim is to enable those prisoners who have been here once to leave and never come back,” he said.

Across this West African nation, prisons are now offering inmates training in a wide range of skills, from gardening to livestock farming, to tailoring, carpentry and soapmaking.

Activities vary from one place to another, but for now, only a small percentage of prisoners are involved.

“The problem is that we often lack resources, which means we don’t manage to put them on at all the prisons,” Yabre admits, citing financial difficulties at the prisons’ authority.

For Tapily, the funding shortfall is easily explained.

“We are in a poor country where everything is a priority so the state can’t allow itself to spend too much on the prisons,” he says.

“If I was president and had to choose between building a new hospital and a new jail, I would choose a hospital!”
Nine civilians are killed in twin attacks carried out by Islamist militants in eastern Burkina Faso.