Voice of America, BBC suspended for two weeks in Burkina Faso

According to officials, Burkina Faso has put a two-week suspension on broadcasting from the Voice of America and BBC radio networks for releasing a rights report that accused the army of attacking people.

At least 223 civilians, including 56 children, were killed by soldiers in two retaliatory operations on February 25 in Burkina Faso’s jihadist-affected north, according to a report released on Thursday by the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The Communications Authority (CSC) declared late on Thursday that “the programs of these two international radio networks broadcasting from Ouagadougou have been suspended for a period of two weeks.”

The decision, according to the statement, was made as a result of reports that the VOA and BBC Africa broadcast and posted on their digital platforms “accusing the Burkina army of abuses against the civilian population.”

“Hasty and biased declarations without tangible proof against the Burkinabe army,” according to the body, were incorporated in the report.

Regarding the report, Burkina Faso has not responded. In 2015, a jihadist uprising that originated in neighboring Mali ravaged the West African nation.

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