PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2023) Niger has blocked French radio RFI (Radio France Internationale) and the France 24 tv channel from broadcasting a week after a coup in the country, French state-run holding company France Medias Monde said on Thursday.
"Multiple sources on the ground say that RFI and France24 broadcasting has been halted in the country (Niger). France Medias Monde condemns this decision that has been taken outside the established legal framework," the media group said in a statement.
The French radio and TV channel had already been censored in Mali and Burkina Faso in recent months, the statement read.
RFI and France24 are the main French foreign broadcasters in Africa, covering the French perspective on world and continental events.
On July 26, Niger's presidential guard removed President Mohamed Bazoum from power. The guard's commander, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the country's new leader.
The new Nigerien authorities urged people to protest against France, which had exercised colonial rule over Niger for more than 60 years, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), citing the possibility of of their forces' intrusion into the country.
The concerns of the coup participants increased last Sunday after ECOWAS said it might use force if Bazoum was not returned to power within a week. French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, vowed to support any sanctions that might be introduced against the coup participants by African regional organizations and also called for Bazoum's release.
