According to reports, Burkina Faso has suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio networks from broadcasting for a period of two weeks for airing a rights report accusing the army of attacks on civilians.
International NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday April 25th stated that soldiers in Burkina Faso’s jihadist-hit north had killed at least 223 villagers, including 56 children, in two revenge attacks on February 25.
The communications authority (CSC) announced late on Thursday; “The programmes of these two international radio networks broadcasting from Ouagadougou have been suspended for a period of two weeks”.
It equally noted that the decision had been taken because BBC Africa and the VOA aired and also published a report on their digital platforms “accusing the Burkina army of abuses against the civilian population”.
The body said the report contained “hasty and biased declarations without tangible proof against the Burkinabe army”.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso has not commented on the report. The West African nation has been battered by a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighboring Mali in 2015.
