Suspension follows broadcasts on ongoing fuel shortages caused by armed group actions
Mali’s media regulator has suspended French broadcasters TF1 and LCI over allegedly broadcasting false information related to a fuel blockade imposed by an al-Qaeda-linked armed group.
In a letter dated November 13 and made public Friday, Mali’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) told local distributors that the two channels had made “unverified claims and falsehoods” in a November 9 broadcast. The channels have been inaccessible in Mali since Thursday evening, according to AFP.
The HAC specifically disputed reports that:
• The military junta had banned fuel sales.
• The Kayes and Nioro regions were fully blockaded.
• Militants were close to taking the capital, Bamako.
Since September, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a Mali-based al-Qaeda-linked group, has blocked key highways used by fuel tankers from Senegal and Ivory Coast. The blockade has caused severe fuel shortages, creating long lines at gas stations and worsening the country’s security situation.
Several Western embassies, including those of the United States and France, have urged their citizens to leave Mali.
Mali, along with Niger and Burkina Faso, is governed by military-led administrations that took power in recent years, promising greater security. Analysts note that insecurity in the Sahel has worsened, with both armed groups and security forces responsible for civilian casualties.
The three countries have recently withdrawn from regional and international organisations, forming the Alliance of Sahel States, while reducing defence ties with Western powers in favour of closer cooperation with Russia.
Within the Sahel, military governments continue to face armed groups controlling parts of territory, with reports of possible atrocities by both rebels and state-aligned forces, according to Human Rights Watch and other advocacy groups.