Militants jailed in Burkina Faso terror trial

Two members of an Islamist militant group in Burkina Faso have been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, in the first trial of its kind in the country. 

The men were members of Ansar ul Islam, a group formed by popular Islamic preacher Ibrahim Dicko, who reportedly died in 2019.

The two men - aged 38 and 29 - admitted to charges that they attacked a school in the central region in 2018 and set it on fire because they believed the school's teachings were contrary to Islamic law.

The court also ordered the them to pay $7,000 (£5,000) in damages.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Africa Center for Strategic Studies