After an interview with the head of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on the news channel in early March, Burkina Faso’s ruling junta on Monday ordered the transmission of France 24 on its soil to be suspended “sine die.”
“By opening its airwaves to AQIM’s top leader, France 24 is not only acting as a communications agency for these terrorists, but is also providing a space for legitimizing terrorist actions and hate speech aimed at fulfilling the organization’s evil intentions in Burkina Faso,” said a statement signed by government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo.
“The government has therefore decided in all responsibility, and in the name of the higher interest of the nation, to suspend sine die the broadcasting of France 24 programmes throughout the national territory,” the statement said.
Wassim Nasr, a journalist for France 24 and an expert on jihadist problems, posed about fifteen questions, to which Abu Obeida Youssef al-Annabi, the head of AQIM, responded in writing on March 6.
The airing of Radio France
(RFI), which is owned by the same company as France 24, France Médias Monde, was already halted by the Ouagadougou authorities at the beginning of December.
RFI was accused of having relayed “an intimidation message” attributed to a “terrorist leader”.
Mali, which is likewise governed by a military junta, has also suspended RFI and France 24 for a year.
“In the noble struggle to liberate our country from the barbarity of terrorist hordes and armed bandits, the government warns that it will remain intransigent in defending the vital interests of our people against all those who would play the megaphone in the amplification of terrorist actions and speeches of hatred and division conveyed by these armed groups,” the government notes.
According to NGOs, since 2015, jihadist organizations with ties to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have been engaging in a cycle of violence in Burkina Faso that has resulted in the deaths of 10,000 civilians and troops as well as the displacement of about two million people.
Despite the rise in attacks, Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took control of the country in a coup six months ago, declared in February that he was “determined” to battle the jihadists.
