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France 24 suspended in Burkina Faso after al-Qaeda interview

Burkina Faso's military government has suspended France 24 broadcasts there, after the channel aired an interview with the head of al Qaeda's North African wing Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

According to Reuters, earlier this month, France 24 ran an interview with Yezid Mebarek, who is also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi. Mebarek claimed the title of "emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" after his predecessor was killed in a French raid in 2020.

Burkina Faso's minister of communication, Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo said: "France 24 is not only acting as a mouthpiece for these terrorists, but worse, it is providing a space for the legitimisation of terrorist actions and hate speech."

The military seized power in Burkina Faso in October. Then in January, the government issued France with one month's notice to withdraw its troops from the county, ending an accord that allowed French troops to fight insurgents.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

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