Burkina Faso: Military junta axes additional foreign media over killings coverage
The ruling military junta in Burkina Faso has suspended additional Western and African media over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the army of extrajudicial killings.
The suspension by the communication council follows similar sanctions on BBC Africa and the U.S.-funded Voice of America for reporting on the HRW investigation that indicted the Burkinabe military for killing 223 villagers in February while campaigning against civilians accused of collaborating with terrorists.
Some of the media houses named in the latest suspension are French newspaper Le Monde, British publication The Guardian, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and French broadcaster TV5 Monde.
African agencies APA and Ecofin have also been blocked until further notice.
The junta-led West African country said French television network TV5Monde’s operations would be suspended for two weeks, while access to its website would be blocked.
It further accused the media outlets of attempts to discredit the military forces in their quest to end raging insecurity.
Burkina Faso has been battered by an insurgency that swept in from neighboring Mali in 2015.
Thousands of civilians, troops, and police officers have been killed; about 2 million people have fled their homes; and discontent among the military over the increasing casualties triggered two military coups in 2022.
