Burkina Faso expels reporters working for French newspapers

Foreign reporters working for France's 'Le Monde' and 'Libération' dailies have been expelled from Burkina Faso, the latest deterioration of relations between France and its former African colonies.

French newspaper Le Monde reported the expulsion on Sunday, saying Burkina had told French correspondents to leave.

"Our correspondent in Burkina Faso, Sophie Douce, has been expelled from the country... at the same time as her colleague from Libération, Agnes Faivre," Le Monde announced, condemning the move as "arbitrary" and "unacceptable".

"Libération" also said it "vigorously protests these absolutely unjustified expulsions" and suggested they were linked to an investigation it published earlier in the week.

The Burkina government spokesman said after the piece was published that "the government strongly condemns these manipulations disguised as journalism to tarnish the image of the country".

The two reporters arrived in Paris early on Sunday after being expelled late on Saturday, Le Monde added.

Also on Monday, Burkina's ruling junta suspended all broadcasts by the France 24 news channel, after it interviewed the head of Al-Qaeda North Africa.

In December, the Burkina junta suspended Radio France Internationale (RFI), which belongs to the same France Medias Monde group as France 24, accusing the radio station of airing a "message of intimidation" attributed to a "terrorist chief".

In January, Burkina Faso’s government ended a military accord that allowed French troops to purportedly fight armed groups on its territory because the government wants the country to defend itself.

Last year, the French ambassador and several French media outlets were thrown out from Mali, Burkina Faso’s northern neighbor, while all of its troops were withdrawn under heavy pressure from the Malian government.

France, a former colonizer in Africa, still seeks control over countries spread over more than 12 territories. It has had more than 50 military interventions in the continent since 1960, when many of its former colonies gained nominal independence.

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