Burkina Faso’s government has suspended France 24 broadcasts after airing an interview with the leader of al Qaeda’s North African branch, AQIM.
Recent reports indicate that following a military coup in Burkina Faso in October, relations between Paris and Ouagadougou have drastically deteriorated.
In January, Burkina Faso terminated a military agreement that had authorised French troops to battle militants anywhere in the world, even on its soil, and gave France one month to withdraw its troops.
Yezid Mebarek, also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, spoke with France 24 earlier this month. He is reportedly the “emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” after a French raid killed his predecessor in 2020.
The minister of information for Burkina Faso, Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, stated that by interviewing the leader of AQIM, “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.”
France 24 – which is funded by the French state – said the move was based on “unfounded accusations”.
“The channel never gave him the floor directly,” France 24 said in a statement, adding it chose to only report what the interviewee said through a studio conversation with one of its journalists.
In December, Ouagadougou suspended broadcasts of Radio France International, a radio station also funded by the French government, over what it called false reports and giving voice to Islamist militants.
