Earth Science News
AFRICA NEWS
Burkina Faso suspends French news outlet Jeune Afrique
Burkina Faso suspends French news outlet Jeune Afrique
by AFP Staff Writers
Ouagadougou (AFP) Sept 26, 2023

Burkina Faso's junta-led government on Monday suspended French news outlet Jeune Afrique's print and online operations in the country, accusing it of seeking to "discredit" the military.

Since taking power in a coup in 2022, the junta has suspended multiple TV and radio stations and expelled foreign correspondents, especially from French media.

Founded in 1960 and based in France, Jeune Afrique is a website and monthly magazine with several correspondents and contributors in Africa and elsewhere.

The government in Ouagadougou has suspended "all Jeune Afrique distribution media in Burkina Faso until further notice", its spokesman and communications minister Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement.

He blamed "a new and misleading article... titled 'Tensions persist in Burkina Faso army' and published on Monday".

"This publication follows an earlier article by the same newspaper on the same website", published on Thursday, "in which Jeune Afrique alleged that 'Discontent is growing in Burkina Faso barracks'," the statement added.

"These deliberate assertions, made without the slightest hint of proof, have no other purpose than to discredit the national armed forces and, by extension, all fighting forces in an unacceptable manner."

Some people interviewed by AFP in Ouagadougou still had access to the website, while others said they had problems connecting.

- Anti-France sentiment -

The decision came almost a year after Captain Ibrahim Traore came to power in a coup, the landlocked country's second in eight months.

In June, Burkina Faso authorities announced the suspension of the French television channel LCI for three months, after expelling the correspondents of the French dailies Liberation and Le Monde in April.

At the end of March, they had ordered the suspension of the television channel France 24.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has faced recurring jihadist violence, which has left more than 17,000 people dead and more than two million internally displaced.

The two coups of 2022 were each triggered in part by discontent at failures to stem a raging jihadist insurgency.

Regional instability has also fuelled recent military takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Niger.

The succession of coups in the Sahel region has alarmed Western governments, as well as the Economic Community of West African States.

Anti-Paris sentiment has been inflamed in the three countries -- all former French colonies -- with military rulers strengthening ties with Russia.

Earlier this month, the juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger signed a mutual defence pact, to "establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of our populations".

France withdrew its troops and ambassador from Burkina Faso earlier this year in the face of post-coup hostility.

Junta chief Traore this month gave an interview saying Burkina was not "the enemy of the French people" but of the policies of its government.

"We have to accept seeing each other as equals... and accept an overhaul of our entire cooperation," he told state television.

'France out!' when former colonies give Paris the boot
Paris (AFP) Sept 25, 2023 - After Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic, France is being forced to withdraw troops from yet another former African colony that pivoted to Russia after souring on Paris: Niger.

Faced with growing anti-French sentiment since a military takeover in Niger in July, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to bring home 1,500 counter-terrorism troops, along with France's ambassador to Niamey.

The pullout will be the fourth in under two years by the French, who still have bases in a handful of African countries.

Here is a short summary of the three other routs:

- Mali -

Nearly a decade after French troops were hailed as liberators in northern Mali for helping government forces drive out al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists, France pulled out of Mali in 2022 after a bitter row with the country's military leadership.

Relations soured following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 and growing hostility towards France from the Malian public, which accused France's regional counter-terrorism operation of failing to stop jihadists pushing into the centre of the country.

Bamako's junta leaders struck up a partnership with the Moscow-linked mercenary group Wagner instead and Mali became one of Russia's rare defenders on the global stage following its invasion of Ukraine.

- Central African Republic -

French troops were also deployed in recent years in the Central African Republic, helping keep the peace after a fierce bout of inter-communal bloodshed in 2013.

But there too, French troops were forced to leave after the president called in Wagner to quell a rebellion and France became the victims of a disinformation campaign allegedly whipped up by Moscow.

The last troops from France's Operation Sangaris left in December 2022.

- Burkina Faso -

In January 2023, the junta that had come to power in a coup in Burkina Faso in September 2022 -- the second coup in nine months -- gave the 400 French special forces stationed there a month to leave the country.

Like Mali and Central African Republic, the small French contingent, which had been powerless to stop a devastating jihadist insurgency, had become increasingly unpopular among the public.

Burkina has since held talks with Russia on developing military cooperation.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
AFRICA NEWS
Niger's rulers welcome news of French army pull-out
Niamey, Niger (AFP) Sept 24, 2023
Niger's military rulers on Sunday welcomed the announcement that France will pull its troops out of the country by the end of the year as "a new step towards sovereignty". The statement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would soon withdraw its ambassador from Niger, followed by its military contingent in the coming months. "This Sunday, we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger," said a statement from the country's military rulers, who seized p ... read more

AFRICA NEWS
At least 100 killed in Iraq wedding fire tragedy

Grief, anger at Iraq mass for victims of wedding fire

Reconstruction aid lagging for 2022 Pakistan floods: UN chief

East Libya government announces fund for flood-hit Derna

AFRICA NEWS
Hit soccer video game adds mixed-gender teams, sheds FIFA name

Mineral-hungry clean tech sees countries seeking to escape China's shadow

One-atom-thick ribbons could improve batteries, solar cells and sensors

FAA proposes rule to reduce space debris as SpaceX launches 22 satellites into orbit

AFRICA NEWS
UK water firms must cut bills over poor performance: regulator

New method for purifying drinking water could be used in disaster zones

Laser-based ice-core sampling for studying climate change

Long-lasting La Nina events more common over past century

AFRICA NEWS
Two 'catastrophic' years melt away 10% of Swiss glacier volume: study

Antarctica's glacial border migrates for miles with the tide

Antarctic sea ice hits lowest winter maximum on record: US data

Glacier Loss Day indicates record breaking glacier melt

AFRICA NEWS
Malaysia boosts China palm oil exports under EU pressure

Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change

Earthworms contribute to 6.5% of world grain production: study

As temperatures rise, Sicily turns to exotic fruits

AFRICA NEWS
Biggest quake in 40 years shakes Italy's volcanic Campi Flegrei

Tree rings reveal a new kind of earthquake threat to the Pacific Northwest

Libya orders 8 officials arrested after flood disaster

Three dead, 15 missing after Guatemalan river sweeps away homes

AFRICA NEWS
Climate migration study launched in DR Congo capital

UN Security Council cautious over faster DRCongo peacekeeper pullout

Niger regime wants 'negotiated framework' for French army pull-out: statement

French news outlet Jeune Afrique protests Burkina suspension

AFRICA NEWS
Does a brain in a dish have moral rights?

Fears for ancient Cyrene after Libya floods

Need to hunt small prey compelled humans to make better weapons and smarten up

Hong Kong's top court rules to recognise same-sex partnerships

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.