According to industry reports, Mali’s government has suspended the broadcast of the French news channel LCI for two months, citing alleged “false accusations” made against the army and its Russian allies. The suspension, which began on August 23, applies to all authorized radio and television broadcasting services in Mali.
The decision comes in response to comments made by military specialist Colonel Michel Goya during a program titled “Wagner Decimated in Mali: the Hand of Kyiv,” aired on July 27. The Malian media regulator (HAC) objected to what it described as “disparaging remarks, gratuitous assertions, and false accusations of exactions against the Malian armed forces and their Russian partners” in the program.
This move is part of a broader trend of the Malian government clamping down on foreign media. Since the military took power in 2020 and 2021, Mali has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency and a separatist struggle in the north. Following a shift in alliances away from France and towards Russia, the junta has taken measures to restrict foreign media, including the permanent suspension of RFI and France 24 in 2022 and France 2 in 2024.
These actions reflect a broader pattern in the region, with neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger also imposing restrictions on media.
In June 2023, Burkina Faso suspended LCI after a journalist’s comments on the security situation were deemed “false information.”
