‘False News’: BBC suspended from broadcasting in Niger

By Oumar Sankare

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) – Accused of running false news in Niger, British public broadcaster the BBC has been suspended from operations in the West African nation for the next three months.

Communications Minister Sidi Mohamed Raliou accused the BBC of having broadcast “false information," allegedly aimed at “destabilizing social tranquility and undermining the morale of the troops.”

The suspension order comes after the BBC reported about an attack on people in the village of Chatoumane near the border with Burkina Faso. It said dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed.

However, the country's military administration said only 10 soldiers died.

In a letter to local radio stations, Raliou asked them to halt broadcasting BBC programs “with immediate effect.”

The BBC also runs its programs through local radio partners.

The administration also said it filed a complaint accusing Radio France International of "inciting genocide" (RFI) in its report on the attack, accused it of “orchestrating a vast campaign of disinformation."