Burkina Faso has suspended several international news organizations for airing accusations of an army massacre of civilians. The move has sparked concern from several countries.
The suspended news outlets include Le Monde, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle, TV5 Monde, Ouest-France, APAnews, and Agence Ecofin. They were penalized for reporting on the Human Rights Watch statement, which accused soldiers of killing at least 223 people in revenge attacks on two villages on February 25.
On Thursday, the CSC directed internet service providers to suspend access to the BBC, VOA, and HRW from Burkinabe territory for two weeks. The suspensions have led the UK and the US to issue a statement expressing their grave concern about the killings and the subsequent media suspensions. They urged Ouagadougou to investigate the massacres thoroughly and hold those responsible accountable. The Western allies also noted that free and independent media must be permitted to conduct investigations and good-faith reporting without fear of reprisals.
The EU also condemned the reported massacre and called on authorities to launch an independent and impartial investigation. The EU stated that liberty of expression and the right to information are essential to the rule of law. DW managing director of programming Nadja Scholz called Burkinabe authorities to unblock the website as quickly as possible.
The military rulers of Burkina Faso have dismissed the HRW report on the massacre as baseless. The report found that 56 children were among the dead. Communications minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement that the killings at Nodin and Soro led to the opening of a legal inquiry. He expressed his surprise that HRW has been able to identify “the guilty” and pronounce its verdict while the inquiry is still underway.
HRW described the massacre as “among the worst army abuse in Burkina Faso since 2015”. The New York-based group said that these mass killings appear to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with Islamist armed groups and may amount to crimes against humanity.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned what it called “grave and abusive decisions” from the junta. The defender of press freedom said that general news on the country’s security situation must not be a pretext for the worst attacks recorded against the media in recent months.
