Niger’s military government announced on Thursday, December 12, 2024, the suspension of BBC radio broadcasts for three months, citing allegations of disseminating “erroneous information likely to destabilize social peace and undermine troop morale.” This decision is the latest in a series of sanctions imposed on Western media by military regimes in the Sahel region.
The ban, effective immediately, halts the airing of BBC programs, including its widely followed Hausa-language broadcasts, which are transmitted through local radio partners across Niger.
Ongoing Restrictions on Western Media
Since taking power in a coup in July 2023, Niger’s military leadership has targeted several Western media outlets. In August 2023, French broadcasters Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France 24 were banned. On Thursday, the junta announced plans to file a complaint against RFI but did not specify any particular program or content as the basis for its actions.
This escalation follows reports by both the BBC and RFI alleging a recent attack by jihadists in the Chatoumane area of the western Tera region near Burkina Faso. According to their reports, 90 soldiers and over 40 civilians were killed in the assault. While these figures were corroborated by a Western security source, Niger’s junta has denied the reports, labeling them as “baseless assertions” and part of a “campaign of intoxication.”
Sahel’s Struggles with Jihadist Violence
Niger, like its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has long grappled with jihadist violence. The border regions shared by the three nations have become strongholds for groups linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
These three Sahel countries, all of which have experienced military coups in recent years, have adopted similar media suppression tactics. Many foreign media outlets, particularly those based in France, have been accused of acting as propaganda tools for their respective governments.
The juntas have increasingly distanced themselves from France, expelling French troops deployed to combat jihadist insurgencies and shifting their security alliances toward Russia. Voices critical of the military regimes have also been systematically silenced.
Rising Casualties and Regional Instability
Despite official denials, Niger’s military occasionally provides reports of jihadist attacks, referring to the perpetrators as “terrorists.” On Wednesday, the government confirmed the deaths of 10 soldiers in an attack in western Niger.
In the southeast, near the borders with Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria, Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) continue to pose significant threats. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), jihadist attacks have claimed the lives of over 1,500 civilians and soldiers in Niger over the past year—more than double the 650 fatalities reported between July 2022 and July 2023.
Niger’s latest actions against the BBC highlight the junta’s growing intolerance for external scrutiny, further isolating the country amidst ongoing regional instability.
(AFP)
