Burkina Faso’s government has suspended Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts for three months due to its reporting on militant attacks in Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali, according to the state news agency.
The country’s media regulator claimed a VOA broadcast in September was aimed at “undermining the morale” of the armed forces in both countries, as reported by L’Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB) on Monday.
Earlier this year, VOA and the BBC were suspended for two weeks after Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that military forces “summarily executed” 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in two villages during February.
The latest suspension follows the media regulator’s criticism of VOA’s “Washington Forum” program, which reported on a rare attack by an armed group on a military camp and airport in Mali’s capital, which resulted in soldiers’ deaths. The regulator also took issue with VOA’s coverage of an August militant attack in central Burkina Faso that left at least 100 villagers and soldiers dead, AIB reported.
Burkina Faso has been dealing with a decade-long conflict involving militants, resulting in over 20,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people, many of whom are children.