Burkina Faso Suspends BBC and VOA Radio Broadcasts Over Coverage of Army Killings

Burkina Faso has suspended the radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and the U.S-funded Voice of America for two weeks over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch report accusing the army of extrajudicial killings, authorities announced on Thursday.

The report by Human Rights Watch stated that the Burkinabe military had summarily executed around 223 villagers, including at least 56 children, in February as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants.

The watchdog called on authorities to investigate the massacres, highlighting the repeated mass atrocities committed by the Burkinabe army against civilians in the name of fighting terrorism.

In response to the report, the country’s communication council deemed the allegations against the army as “peremptory and tendentious,” likely to incite public disorder. As a result, they decided to suspend the radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and Voice of America, as well as block access to their websites and other digital platforms in Burkina Faso.

The investigation by Human Rights Watch was prompted by a regional prosecutor’s statement in March, revealing that about 170 people were executed by unidentified assailants during attacks on the villages of Komsilga, Nodin, and Soro.

Burkina Faso, along with other Sahel nations, has been grappling with Islamist insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State since 2012, resulting in thousands of deaths and millions of displacements. The failure of authorities to protect civilians has led to political instability, with multiple coups occurring in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger since 2020.

The suspension of the radio broadcasts and online platforms of BBC Africa and Voice of America reflects the government’s efforts to control the narrative surrounding the alleged extrajudicial killings. The move has sparked concerns about press freedom and the ability of media outlets to report on human rights abuses in the region.