Burkina Faso Halts Transmission Of VOA And BBC/Africa Broadcasts


The Superior Council of Communication in Burkina Faso has recently decided to temporarily suspend the programs of Voice of America and BBC/Africa due to the coverage of a Human Rights Watch report accusing the Burkinabè army of abuses against civilians. 

According to VOA, the suspension includes halting rebroadcasts and program suspensions for two weeks, as well as blocking access to the websites and digital platforms of BBC, VOA, and Human Rights Watch within the country. 

Military-controlled Burkina Faso has recently halted the operations of other Western media outlets, such as French television broadcasters LCI and France24, French radio broadcaster Radio France Internationale, the French daily newspaper Le Monde, and the French magazine Jeune Afrique.

Sadibou Marong, the director of the Reporters Without Borders sub-Saharan Africa bureau, echoed this sentiment, describing the suspensions as another setback for press freedom in Burkina Faso.

Marong, based in Dakar, Senegal, criticized the authorities for using suspensions as a tool against those who strive to report without constraints.

Burkina Faso, along with Mali and Niger, is among the West African nations in the Sahel region grappling with Islamist insurgencies. The military took control in a coup in 2022, citing the government's inability to quell a jihadist uprising that began in 2015.

Once praised as a regional beacon of media freedom, Burkina Faso has seen a decline in press freedom following military takeovers in January and September 2022.

Both VOA and BBC have expressed their commitment to continue reporting on Burkina Faso despite the suspension, emphasizing the importance of independent and accurate news coverage. Press freedom groups have criticized the decision, highlighting a concerning pattern of censorship in the country.

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