France 24 Banned in Burkina Faso for Amplifying Terrorism

The military government of Burkina Faso delisted France 24 from television channels in the country for amplifying terrorism.

This comes a year after Mali banned the French-owned platform for a similar reason.

Four months earlier, the Burkinabe authority also suspended Radio France Internationale (RFI) for “amplifying terror content”.

Burkina Faso has been suffering from different forms of insecurity, reports HumAngle, adding over two million people have fled their homes in the country with thousands of civilians, soldiers, and police slaughtered. Presently, about 40 percent of the nation is no longer under government control.

In a statement released by the spokesperson for the military government of Ibrahim Troure on March 27, the Burkinabe government said the measure to ban France 24 was taken after the media house conducted an exclusive interview with the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

This month the news channel aired the interview with Yezid Mebarek, also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, who claimed the title of “emir of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM) in 2020 after a French raid killed his predecessor.

The government criticized the interview’s broadcast, calling it “unethical” and “insensitive” to the suffering of the thousands of citizens who lost their lives and their homes as a result of jihadi terrorism in the Sahel.

“This organization, needs to be reminded, a supporter of jihadist terrorism, is the perpetrator of heinous crimes that shock the human conscience and have claimed thousands of victims around the world,” the statement said.

According to the statement, France 24 provided the terrorists with a platform for the dissemination of hate speech and helps them gain support for their terrorist activities.

The government of Burkina Faso will stay “uncompromising in defending the vital interests of our people against all those who would play the megaphones in the amplification of terrorist actions and hate speech and of division carried out by these armed groups,” the statement further read.

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It continued: “Therefore, responsibly and in the interest of the Nation, the Government has decided to suspend sine die (without date for review) the broadcast of France 24 programs throughout the national territory.”

Reacting to the statement, the management of France 24 said it deplored the ban and characterized the charge of unprofessionalism by the Burkina government as “unfounded”.

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