BURKINA Faso’s military government has taken another step in its crackdown on foreign media by suspending French television news channel La Chaine Info (LCI), of private broadcaster TF1, for three months. The suspension comes after the channel aired a report on the jihadist insurgency in the country, which the government deemed lacking objectivity and credibility.
The decision to suspend LCI was announced by the national media regulator in a statement published on Thursday. The report in question, aired at the end of April, was accused of exagge
rating the scale of the insurgency and presenting ‘unverified’ failures in Burkina Faso’s military response to the crisis in a ‘seditious’ manner.
The strained relations between Burkina Faso and its former coloniser, France, have further deteriorated in the wake of increasing insecurity, leading to two military takeovers last year. The ruling junta has already suspended other French-funded broadcasters, Radio France Internationale and France24, alleging that they provided a platform for Islamist militants invo
lved in the insurgency across the Sahel region.
TF1, the parent company of LCI, has not yet responded to the suspension.
The tension in Burkina Faso arises from the ongoing jihadist insurgency linked to groups associated with al Qaeda and Islamic State, which originated in Mali in 2012. This violence has resulted in the loss of thousands of civilian lives and the displacement of over six million people, as the militants continue to expand their foothold in the region, as per the United Nations’ estimates. In the context of these security challenges, the Burkinabé government is exercising strict control over media coverage on the subject.
