Niger's military rulers block BBC broadcasts

Niger's military government has suspended the BBC for three months, accusing it of spreading fake news that could undermine social peace and undermine soldiers fighting jihadists.

Niger's Minister of Communications Raliou Sidi Mohamed announced that the decision would take effect immediately.

BBC programmes, including Hausa, the most widely spoken language in Niger, and French, are broadcast in the country through local radio partners, reaching 2.4 million people in the country. -year – about 17% of the adult population.

Although the BBC radio programs have been cancelled, the website is not blocked and the radio can still be accessed on shortwave.

Niger's government did not call for special coverage for the ban, but it follows the BBC's reports of jihadist attacks in the Tillaberi region on Tuesday, which are said to have killed 91 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians.

The junta called these reports “baseless assertions” and “an intoxicating campaign organized by the enemies of the Nigerien people that aimed to undermine the morale of our soldiers and sending department”.

The attacks were reported by several sources, including security blogs, which said the gunmen, believed to be linked to the Islamic State group, carried out two attacks at the same time launched in the town of Chatoumane.

In one of the attacks, it is reported that the attackers disguised themselves as civilians and opened fire against soldiers who were patrolling the weekly market. The soldiers could not return fire simply because of the risk of collateral damage.

A BBC spokesman said: “We stand by our journalism and will continue to report on the region without fear or favour.”

French stations, France24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), have also been suspended in Niger since the military seized power in a coup in July 2023.

The junta is under pressure for failing to stop militant attacks, one of its justifications for ousting democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.

Niger's government also announced plans to “file a complaint” against RFI for “inciting genocide”.

He said that the RFI was a propaganda mouthpiece for the former colonial power in France.

RFI described the complaint as “unimpressive and defamatory” and said it was not based on any evidence.

Niger did not say where it planned to file a complaint against the RFI.

West African neighbors Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have all experienced coups in recent years. All of these military-led governments have banned foreign media at some point since taking power.

The BBC was also suspended by Burkina Faso over that broadcast a report accusing their army of mass murder.

They are against terrorism made up of various jihadist groups that operate throughout the Sahel region of West Africa. Tillaberi is a highly volatile region, close to the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso.

The Sahel region is considered to be the new global epicenter of the Islamic State group, and groups linked to al-Qaeda also operate in the region.

The three countries formed an alliance to fight the jihadists and dismissed French soldiers, turning to Russia and Turkey instead for their security needs.

But the violence has continued.