With military victory elusive, W.African nations quietly back talks with Islamists

Children play during the visit of Emir Djibril Diallo, chief negotiator in the talks between the jihadists and the Thiou population, at the displaced camp of Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso.[Reuters]

Two years after local emir Djibril Diallo fled his home in northern Burkina Faso following death threats from Islamist militants, he received an unexpected request: to return and take part in peace talks with the same people who wanted him dead.