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4 Burkina journalists have disappeared in a month: watchdog
4 Burkina journalists have disappeared in a month: watchdog
by AFP Staff Writers
Abidjan (AFP) July 25, 2024

Four journalists critical of Burkina Faso's ruling junta have disappeared in the space of a month, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Thursday, placing partial blame on the military authorities.

Since coming to power in a coup d'etat in September 2022, Burkina Faso's military leaders have cracked down on press freedom and political dissent in the West African country grappling with a jihadist insurgency.

RSF said the missing journalists "were seen as critical voices by the authorities", which "ultimately led to their abductions".

"Since 19 June, two journalists and two columnists have disappeared, at least three of them abducted by armed individuals," RSF said.

"The kidnappers of at least two of these journalists claimed to be members of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR)," it added.

"It is now clear that the government bears a degree of responsibility for their disappearances -- particularly for the deafening silence around the kidnappings, and for showing public hostility towards journalists."

The list of missing journalists includes Kalifara Sere, a commentator for television station BF1, who has not been heard of since June 19 after being questioned by the Supreme Council for Communication (CSC).

Sere had "never minced his words" about Burkina Faso's military rulers, RSF said, and was taken in for questioning after accusing the government of having "fabricated information that is false".

Adama Bayala, a journalist who also worked for BF1, went missing on June 28 while on his way to meet a friend in the capital Ouagadougou.

RSF called Bayala "one of the few voices that openly criticises the current government".

Atiana Serge Oulon, editor of the investigative magazine L'Evenement, was abducted from his home on June 24.

So was Omega Media's editor-in-chief Alain Traore, better known as "Alain Alain", who was seized on July 13 by "two armed men wearing balaclavas and mufflers, accompanied by at least three other people".

Oulon had conducted an investigation into suspected embezzlement by a high-ranking officer, while Traore had written a satirical column "criticising the shortcomings of those in power", RSF said.

Oulon was now likely forcibly conscripted into the army, while the relatives of the other three have had no news of them since they disappeared, it added.

It urged junta chief Captain Ibrahim Traore "not to sink further into this spiral of repression, which is undermining his people's right to information".

Under Traore, the junta has suspended a number of media outlets, especially foreign media outlets and those from former colonial ruler France.

It accuses these of hampering the junta's efforts to regain control of the country in the face of jihadist violence.

In May, RSF warned that journalists in Burkina Faso and its military-run Sahel neighbours Mali and Niger were at risk from violence and threats.

In its annual press freedom index, Burkina Faso fell 28 places to 86th out 180 countries.

Burkina army condemns 'inhumane' mutilation in shared videos
Abidjan (AFP) July 25, 2024 - Burkina Faso's army has condemned recent "macabre acts" and is working to identify those responsible, after videos showing the mutilation of corpses, allegedly by military personnel, were circulated on social media.

The images showed "unbearable images of rare cruelty" and allegedly show members of the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) mutilating a human body, according to the General Staff of the military, who have ruled the Sahelian country since 2022.

On Thursday it said it "strongly condemns these macabre acts, which are contrary to military and moral values and to the rules of engagement for combatants in the fight against terrorism".

It added that the army "distances itself from these inhumane practices", emphasizing that they could tarnish the reputation of Burkinabe forces at the forefront of reclaiming national territory.

A jihadist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.

The Burkinabe army has always denied repeated allegations of extrajudicial executions, sometimes attributing these acts to armed groups using military equipment.

Efforts are under way to identify the origin and authors of the videos, the army said, as the footage does not specify the location, date, or identities of the individuals involved, although some are seen wearing military uniforms.

It comes after the General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces on July 16 also distanced itself from a "video of a rare atrocity akin to cannibalism" showing a person in military uniform, assuring that steps were being taken to "reveal the truth."

Since 2015, deadly violence in Burkina Faso, attributed to armed movements linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, has resulted in approximately 20,000 deaths and more than two million people being internally displaced.

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