The ruling junta in Burkina Faso on Monday ordered the “sine die” suspension of the broadcast of France 24 on its territory, after an interview on the news channel with the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in early March. .
“By opening its antennas to the first head of AQIM, France 24 is not only acting as a communication agency for these terrorists, worse, it offers a space for legitimizing terrorist actions and hate speech conveyed to satisfy the evil aims of this organization on Burkina Faso”, indicates a statement signed by government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo.
“The government has therefore decided in full responsibility, and in the name of the best interests of the Nation, to suspend sine die the broadcasting of France 24 programs throughout the national territory”, continues the text.
On March 6, France 24 broadcast written answers from Abou Obeida Youssef al-Annabi, the head of AQIM, to about fifteen questions asked by the journalist of the French channel and specialist in jihadist issues, Wassim Nasr.
At the beginning of December, the Ouagadougou authorities had already suspended the broadcasting of Radio France Internationale (RFI), from the same group as France 24, France Médias Monde.
RFI was notably accused of having relayed “a message of intimidation” attributed to a “terrorist leader”.
RFI and France 24 have also been suspended in Mali, also governed by a military junta, for a year.
“In the noble fight to liberate our country from the barbarity of terrorist hordes and armed bandits, the government warns that it will remain uncompromising in defending the vital interests of our people against all those who play megaphones in amplifying terrorist actions and hate speech and division conveyed by these armed groups”, notes the government.
Since 2015, Burkina has been caught in a spiral of violence perpetrated by jihadist groups linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, which have caused a total of 10,000 deaths – civilians and soldiers – according to NGOs, and some two million of displaced.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power by a putsch six months ago, expressed in February his “intact determination” to fight the jihadists, despite the multiplication of attacks.