Voting begins after year of upheaval

Voters in Burkina Faso began voting on Sunday for a new president and parliament, hoping to turn the page on a year of turmoil during which the west African nation's people ousted a veteran ruler and repelled a military coup.

Security was tight as some 5 million voters in the nation of 20 million went to the polls to choose a new leader for the first time in almost three decades.

The authorities are deploying 20,000 to 25,000 troops to guard against a jihadist attack, following two recent assaults along the border with Mali.