Schools reopen but no classes

Schools in Burkina Faso reopened on Monday after being closed by the government on 13 April following protests by human rights and opposition groups, but there were no classes since the resumption coincided with a teachers' strike, a media source told IRIN. The strike by members of the Syndicat national des Travailleurs de l'Enseignement et de la Recherche (SINTER) had been announced before an 8 April demonstration and a stayaway held on 10-12 April. Staged to press demands for the payment of housing allowances and other fringe benefits, the strike is scheduled to last a week, the source said. Higher education students, for their part, decided on Monday to stay away from university to protest against the detention of some of their comrades, arrested during the demonstration, in which official vehicles were reportedly burnt.