Burkina Faso has suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio networks from broadcasting for two weeks for airing a rights report accusing the army of attacks on civilians, authorities said.
International NGO Human Rights Watch, HRW, on Thursday said soldiers in Burkina Faso’s jihadist-hit north had killed at least 223 villagers, including 56 children, in two revenge attacks on February 25.
The country’s Superior Council for Communication, CSC, announced late on Thursday that the programs of these two international radio networks broadcasting from Ouagadougou have been suspended for a period of two weeks, adding that BBC Africa and the United States-funded VOA had also published the report on their digital platforms.
HRW’s report contains “peremptory and tendentious” declarations against the army likely to create public disorder, CSC claimed, adding that it had “hasty and biased declarations without tangible proof against the Burkinabe army.”
It said that the country’s internet service providers had been ordered to suspend access to the websites and other digital platforms of the BBC, VOA and HRW from Burkina Faso.
READ ALSO: Ukrainian Court orders Agriculture Minister held in custody over land acquisition allegations
Burkina Faso’s communication spokeswoman, Tonssira Myrian Corine Sanou, warned other media networks to avoid reporting on the story.
“VOA stands by its reporting about Burkina Faso and intends to continue to fully and fairly cover activities in the country,” the network said in a news article reporting on its suspension.
HRW said the massacre appeared to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with armed groups.
Soldiers killed at least 44 people, including 20 children, in Nondin village, and 179 people, including 36 children, in nearby Soro village, according to its report.
HRW interviewed dozens of witnesses between February and March and analyzed videos and photographs shared by survivors. It also reportedly obtained lists of the victims’ names compiled by survivors and geolocated eight mass graves based on satellite imagery from March 15.
Credible News.ng
