Our Correspondent | Africa Guardian
Niger’s military government has suspended BBC radio broadcasts for three months, accusing the British broadcaster of spreading “erroneous information” regarding a reported jihadist attack. The BBC is the latest Western media outlet targeted by Niger’s leadership since a coup in July 2023.
The suspension, effective immediately, alleges that the BBC aired content that could “destabilise social peace” and lower the morale of troops combating jihadist insurgencies. BBC programmes, including those in Hausa, are widely broadcast across Niger through local radio partners.
Ongoing Crackdown on Western Media
The move comes amid a broader clampdown on Western media in Niger. French broadcasters Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France 24 were banned in August 2023, and the junta announced plans to file a formal complaint against RFI on Thursday.
Although no specific programmes were cited, both the BBC and RFI reported on Wednesday that jihadists had killed 90 soldiers and over 40 civilians in an attack in the Chatoumane area, near Niger’s western border with Burkina Faso. While the Agence France-Presse (AFP) could not independently verify these figures, a Western security source confirmed that 90 to 100 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack.
Junta Denies Reports
Niger’s military leadership has categorically denied the reported attack, dismissing the claims as “baseless assertions” and accusing the media of conducting a “campaign of intoxication.” The region where the alleged attack took place is known for its ongoing jihadist activity, with armed groups linked to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda operating across the borders of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.
A Pattern Across the Sahel
Niger joins neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali in suppressing foreign media critical of military authorities. All three nations, plagued by jihadist violence, have undergone military coups in recent years and turned away from their former colonial power, France. French troops stationed in the region to combat insurgencies have been expelled, and accusations of French media serving as propaganda tools for Paris have led to bans on their operations.
Amid the shift, these Sahel countries have strengthened ties with Russia, seeking security support. Voices critical of the juntas have been increasingly silenced.
Rising Violence and Official Reports
Despite the junta’s denials, Niger’s army confirmed on Wednesday that 10 soldiers were killed in a separate attack in the west of the country. The far southeastern region, near Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria, remains vulnerable to assaults by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP).
Conflict monitoring group ACLED reports that jihadist violence has claimed over 1,500 lives in Niger over the past year—more than double the deaths recorded from July 2022 to July 2023.
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