(MENAFN) The military junta in Burkina Faso has suspended all France 24 broadcasts in the country after the news channel interviewed the head of Al-Qaeda North Africa. Burkina Faso has witnessed two coups last year and is currently battling a jihadist insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Mali in 2015.
The junta spokesman accused France 24 of acting as a communications agency for terrorists and offering legitimacy to terrorist actions and hate speech by interviewing AQIM head Abu Ubaydah Yusuf Al-Annabi. The suspension of France 24 broadcasts was announced on Monday, and the channel was cut off around 0900 GMT.
On March 6, France 24 broadcast written replies given by Al-Annabi to 17 questions posed by the news channel's specialist on jihadist issues, Wassim Nasr. The Burkinabe government believes this is part of a process of legitimizing the terrorist message and is aware of the effects of this message in the country.
In response, France 24 has disputed the baseless accusations and called into question the junta's professionalism. The suspension of France 24 broadcasts in Burkina Faso has reignited debates about press freedom, terrorism, and the role of the media in legitimizing extremist ideologies.
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