Burkina Faso bans French television “LCI” for three months

Burkina Faso’s media regulator, CSC, has suspended for three months French television “LCI” for airing wrong information on the security situation in the West African country struggling with terrorism.

The decision came following popular show known as “24h Pujadas, l’info en question” in which the regulator accused the journalist Abnousse Shalmani of making false and baseless remarks on the security situation in Burkina Faso and the Sahel region.

“Jihadists are advancing at full speed in the absence of any State in the conquered localities,” Shalmani is quoted as saying by CSC. She also, according to the regulator, indicated that “40% of the territory is occupied by the jihadists.”

“Nearly 90,000 civilians called Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) are being used “as cannon fodder” to protect Burkina Faso’s military against the terrorists”, she is also quoted as saying.

The CSC slammed the remarks arguing that they are baseless and lack objectivity and credibility. In a statement, the regulator also indicated that the channel is suspended with immediate effect on the package of channels of any distributor of payable audiovisual services.

“Some of this information is “likely to create unrest among the population and undermine the necessary collaboration between the army and civilians to safeguard the Burkinabe homeland,” the regulator added.

LCI, a private television of French media holding company TF1 Group, is the third French media to be suspended by Burkina Faso authorities in connection with the security situation in the country. In March, the CSC suspended sine die State-run France24. In December it also suspended Paris-controlled radio RFI.