Burkina Faso’s military government has suspended an international news channel after it aired an interview with the head of al Qaeda’s North African wing.
Earlier this month, France 24 aired the interview with Yezid Mebarak, also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, who claimed the title of “emir of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM) in 2020 after a French raid killed his predecessor.
“France 24 is not only acting as a mouthpiece for these terrorists, but worse, it is providing a space for the legitimisation of terrorist actions and hate speech,” Burkina Faso’s minister of communication, Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, said in a statement on Monday.
The move comes after a French government-funded international radio channel, Radio France International, was also suspended by Burkina Faso’s government which accused the channel of spreading falsehood and airing messages from armed groups.
Relations between Paris and Ouagadougou have deteriorated sharply since Burkina Faso’s military seized power in a coup in October.
Earlier this year, Burkina Faso gave France, its former coloniser, a month to pull out its troops as it ended a military deal that allowed French forces to fight insurgent groups.
Last year, neighbouring Mali also suspended broadcasts by France 24 and French state-funded international RFI radio, accusing the news outlets of reporting “false allegations” that the army killed dozens of civilians.
