Burkina Faso suspends two media including BBC for accusing army in reports

Authorities in Burkina Faso announced the suspension of two media outlets, including the BBC and VOA, for publishing a Human Rights Watch report accusing the army of abusing civilians.

The country’s media regulator has imposed a two-week suspension on the programmes of BBC Afrique and Voice of America (VOA).

Access to the websites and digital platforms of BBC, VOA, and Human Rights Watch is also suspended within Burkina Faso.

“Accordingly, the BBC and VOA, through their correspondents in Burkina Faso, were instructed by telephone to immediately stop rebroadcasting the offending programme on all their platforms,” state-owned news agency Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB) reported on Thursday.

The Superior Council for Communication (CSC) further warned all local media outlets against disseminating the article, threatening sanctions against violators of the directive.