PARIS - Paris-based media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) says in its latest report that journalists are facing growing difficulties to freely cover events in the Sahel region, especially after military coups in countries like Mali and Burkina Faso.
RSF warns that the Sahel region, which stretches across the continent from west to east, is at risk of becoming "the biggest non-information zone in Africa."
The expulsion of journalists from the French newspapers Le Monde and Libération by the ruling junta in Burkina Faso on Saturday has made the situation even more challenging.
However, RSF's report was written before their expulsion. The report covers Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, and also the northern part of Benin, which is facing similar security challenges.
It describes journalists caught between violence of jihadists and armed groups, and authorities that restrict, pressure, suspend or expel foreign correspondents.
The report also highlights the negative impact of the arrival of the Russian private security company Wagner in Mali. … Nearly 120 journalists were arrested or detained during this period, 72 of whom were in Chad alone.
