Burkina Faso military government suspends broadcast of France's RFI radio

Burkina Faso's military government has suspended the broadcast of France's RFI radio in the Sahel West African state over what it said were false reports and giving voice to Islamist militants, a statement from the government said on Saturday. The statement said RFI on Saturday broadcast a message from a leader of a militant group in which he threatened the population.

Burkina Faso's military government has suspended the broadcast of France's RFI radio in the Sahel West African state over what it said were false reports and giving voice to Islamist militants, a statement from the government said on Saturday.

The statement said RFI on Saturday broadcast a message from a leader of a militant group in which he threatened the population. State-owned Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Reuters. RFI Afrique radio has one of the largest footprint across French-speaking Africa.

The government said that RFI also repeated a press report - which it denied - that Burkina Faso's President Captain Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in a coup in September, had said there had been an attempted coup trying to unseat him. "In view of all of the above, the government has decided of the immediate suspension of the broadcast of all RFI programmes across the national territory," said the statement signed by government spokesman Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo.

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