Burkina Faso suspends the broadcast of TV5 Monde, denouncing “unfounded accusations” against the army

After several decisions targeting foreign media, the television channel TV5 Monde was in turn sanctioned for broadcasting a report implicating the Burkinabe army.

It was a report from the NGO Human Rights Watch that triggered the sanctions. A report relayed by numerous international media and which accuses the Burkinabe army of killings. After the BBC and Voice of America, the broadcast of TV5 Monde is suspended “until further notice” in Burkina Faso. The sites of the German international radio Deutsche Welle, the major French daily newspapers Ouest-France and The worldfrom the British daily The Guardianthe African news portal Apanews and the site of the economic information agency AgenceEcoFin, based in Switzerland and Cameroon, are also banned for the moment.

In its report, the NGO directly names the Burkinabe army, which it accuses of having killed 223 villagers including at least 56 children in two villages on February 25. The events allegedly took place in the villages of Nondin and Soro which are located in the north of the country, in the district of Thiou.

The NGO calls for an independent investigation

Important details, because it is a lost place near the border with Mali, where the populations are mistreated between, on one side, the jihadists who threaten them and, on the other side, the soldiers who feel betrayed by these same populations and accuse them of cooperating with the enemy. It is this impossible ping-pong game that leads to killings that can be blamed either on the military or on terrorists.

In this case, all the testimonies collected by Human Rights Watch seem to point the finger at the Burkinabe authorities. The NGO explains that it contacted 23 people, including 14 witnesses to the killing, and requests the opening of an in-depth investigation into these massacres, carried out with the African Union, but also with the United Nations in order to guarantee its independence and impartiality. .

A new tightening of the authorities

For a week, all the media which relayed this report and which are broadcast in the country have been banned from broadcasting. This was the case of the BBC, Voice of America, then TV5 Monde and several foreign news sites, until further notice. This decision denotes a further tightening of the Burkinabe authorities who, for more than a year and a half, have continued to close themselves off to the rest of the world.

You know, Burkina Faso has been led since 2022 by a military regime resulting from two coups d’état, one in January, the other in September. The country followed the path of neighboring Mali, before being joined by Niger. Since the military junta took power, it has withdrawn into itself. This resulted in the departure of France and its soldiers, and the censorship of French news channels and sites, such as RFI, LCI, The world or Release. There is no longer a direct air connection between Paris and Ouagadougou.

It turns out that the ruling junta is locking the country into dictatorship. Today, it is no longer possible to call certain people in Burkina to carry out interviews, people no longer want to speak for fear of the military, fear of being arrested, imprisoned, or even killed. The country is truly sinking. And the toll is formidable: we are talking about 20,000 deaths and more than two million internally displaced people. No one in Burkina Faso is spared from this violence, which affects all residents closely.