By Lucy Adautin
Burkina Faso has taken decisive actions by suspending several international news organizations, with some facing indefinite suspension, following their coverage of allegations implicating the army in a civilian massacre.
The Communications Regulatory Authority (CSC) expanded the list of suspended outlets over the weekend.
Among those affected are renowned publications such as French newspaper Le Monde, British outlet The Guardian, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and French broadcaster TV5 Monde.
These entities were penalized for disseminating reports based on a statement by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which accused soldiers of perpetrating revenge attacks resulting in the deaths of at least 223 individuals across two villages on February 25.
In addition to the aforementioned outlets, the CSC, in an order dated Saturday, also targeted other media organizations, including French regional newspaper Ouest-France, African website APAnews, and the Swiss-based Agence Ecofin.
On Thursday, the CSC announced it had directed internet service providers to suspend access to the BBC, VOA and HRW from Burkinabe territory for two weeks.
The military rulers of Burkina Faso have dismissed as “baseless” the HRW report on the massacre, which found 56 children were among the dead.
“The killings at Nodin and Soro led to the opening of a legal inquiry,” communications minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement late Saturday.
He expressed his surprise that “while this inquiry is underway to establish the facts and identify the authors, HRW has been able, with boundless imagination, to identify ‘the guilty’ and pronounce its verdict”.
HRW described the massacre as “among the worst army abuse in Burkina Faso since 2015”.
“These mass killings… appear to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with Islamist armed groups, and may amount to crimes against humanity,” the New York-based group said on Thursday.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned what it called “grave and abusive decisions” from the junta.
In an email sent to AFP, the defender of press freedom said it “reminds the authorities that the publication of general news on the country’s security situation must not be a pretext for the worst attacks recorded against the media in recent months”.
According to the Burkina statement, “The media campaign orchestrated around these accusations fully shows the unavowed intention … to discredit our fighting forces.”
“All the allegations of violations and abuses of human rights reported in the framework of the fight against terrorism are systematically subject to investigations” followed by the government and the UN high commissioner for human rights.
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The recent suspensions against media follow a series of similar actions, both temporary and indefinite, initiated since Captain Ibrahim Traore assumed power in September 2022.
During Traore’s leadership, the junta has distanced Burkina Faso from France, its former colonial ruler until 1960, and has specifically targeted several French media organizations.
Burkina Faso, located in West Africa, has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency that originated from neighboring Mali in 2015.
The country has witnessed thousands of civilian, military, and police casualties, with two million people displaced from their homes. The escalating toll has fueled discontent within the military, leading to two coups in 2022.
