Detained Burkina journalists seen at anti-jihadist front line

Three Burkinabe journalists arrested over criticism of the junta have appeared in a video, saying they are at the front line to “cover the reality” of the battle against jihadist attacks.

The government last week dissolved the Burkina Journalists’ Association (AJB), a day after police arrested its president, Guezouma Sanogo, and his deputy, Boukari Ouoba.

The arrests followed an address Sanogo made to the AJB’s congress in which he criticised “attacks on the freedom of expression and the press” in the west African country.

A third journalist, Luc Pagbelguem, was later taken in for questioning after reporting on Sanogo’s remarks.

The location of where the three were being held was unknown.

The three men appeared in a video widely shared since late Wednesday on pro-junta social media accounts.

In it, they appear to be inside a military barracks in a rural area, with shaved heads and in military fatigues, and are answering questions from a soldier.

They talk about the need to “cover the reality on the ground”, without it being clear whether the answers are being given under duress.

Burkina Faso has seen numerous abductions of people viewed as critical of the junta under its chief Ibrahim Traore since he took power in a coup in 2022.

In the past decade, the country has been caught in a spiral of violence blamed on jihadists that has spilt over from neighbouring Mali and Niger and since spread beyond the three countries’ borders.

NGOs have reported cases of people being forcibly recruited into the security forces to be sent to fight jihadists, following a mobilisation order in 2023.

The campaigners say the order targets figures critical of the country’s leaders.