Burkina Faso

Security officials in Burkina Faso say at least five people, including a priest, have been killed in an attack on a church in the north of the country.

The assailants are reported to have arrived on motorbikes.

There has been an increase in militant attacks in Burkina Faso in recent months, mainly conducted by jihadist groups.

Burkina Faso is among countries in the vast Sahel region battling Islamist insurgencies in the region.

It formed a regional force, G5 Sahel, along with Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Mali to take on the militants.

In January Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba resigned from office along with his entire cabinet.

His government had faced growing pressure over a rise in the number of kidnappings and jihadist attacks.

Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré was named as new prime minister following a decree by President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré

Read more: The war in the desert: Why the Sahara is terror's new front line

BBC

Two teachers have been killed in Burkina Faso after being kidnapped, the ministry of education has confirmed.

They were kidnapped on 11 March and buried on Tuesday.

The goal of the kidnappers was to scare the teachers into abandoning their posts in the region, according to a government source.

Both teachers were working in the town of Djibo, where teachers are regularly threatened.

In three areas affected by an upsurge in violence by Islamist militant groups in Burkina Faso, 1,111 out of 2,869 schools have closed in recent months.

These regions are in the north of the country that borders Mali and Niger where jihadist militants have operated for several years.

Schools have been targeted by the groups, who are opposed to Western education.

Read more: The country where it is too dangerous to go to school