On 16 September, the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced the launch of a joint indigenous media platform following the suspension of French news outlets in the region. This initiative, a web-based television channel, is intended to provide state-controlled information and counter what the governments describe as biased foreign reporting. The media launch comes amid growing restrictions on press freedom in these countries, where military-led governments have expelled several international media organizations. The creation of this platform reflects a broader trend in the Sahel of increasing government control over information and an erosion of media independence.

Sources: France24, Anadolu Agency, International IDEA

More than 300 civilians were reportedly killed in a terrorist attack carried out in northern Burkina Faso on 24 August, making it one of the deadliest in the country’s history. The Al Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), attacked villages near Barsalogho , with the military reportedly anticipating an attack and enlisting villagers to dig protective trenches. Despite initial fears of reprisals, trench-digging began as JNIM fighters launched their attack, though the group claimed responsibility while denying they targeted civilians. This attack highlights the escalating violence that has plagued Burkina Faso for years, where insurgents have intensified assaults. Nearly 2,000 people were killed in Burkina Faso in 2023 alone. There are also growing fears that Russia recently withdrawing 100 of its paramilitary officers from Burkina Faso could embolden Islamist insurgents across the country.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, ACLED, Jeune Afrique,  Institute for Economics and Peace

In August, Burkina Faso’s military authorities conscripted at least six magistrates, including prosecutors and a judge, into the army as a punitive measure. According to Burkinabè magistrates’ union, the conscripted magistrates all had open proceedings against supporters of the ruling junta. Forced conscriptions for government security operations have been authorized under last year’s 13 April “general mobilization” plan, which grants President Ibrahim Traoré sweeping powers, including requisitioning people and goods to combat insurgency. The recent conscriptions, however, marked an escalation in the military junta’s efforts to silence dissent and undermine judicial independence. Human Rights Watch condemned this as unlawful and part of a broader pattern of repression under the junta, where state actors have increasingly targeted voices and independent institutions critical of the regime’s practices.

Sources: Reuters, Burkina24, Human Rights Watch, Jeune Afrique, France24, International IDEA

On 11 July, Burkina Faso’s military junta announced that the Cabinet has endorsed a draft family code, which would - if passed - criminalize homosexuality and ‘associated practices’ for the first time. In a statement on 10 July, Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said the junta’s Cabinet had endorsed the amended family code draft in a weekly Council of Ministers overseen by interim leader Ibrahim Traoré. The specific penalties were not outlined. The draft law still needs to be passed by parliament and promulgated by the leader of the country’s junta, Ibrahim Traoré.

Sources: Reuters, BBC, Africa News, Barron’s

Within the space of ten days in June, three journalists disappeared in suspected state abductions. A fourth journalist was abducted on 13 July. According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, all four (Atiana Serge Oulon, Alain Traoré, Adama Bayala and Kalifaré Séré) were known for their criticism of the government. Kidnappers of at least two of them claimed to be members of the National Intelligence Agency. In a statement made on 11 July, the leader of Burkina Faso’s junta, Ibrahim Traoré said that he had forcefully conscripted one journalist, thought to be Oulon (a tactic the junta has previously used against critics). The fate of the other journalists remains unknown. The disappearances take place amid a growing crackdown on press freedom, with many foreign media outlets suspended in April over their coverage of a report on a massacre allegedly perpetrated by the army.        

Sources: Reporters Without Borders, International Federation of Journalists, Wakat Séra, Human Rights Watch, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Committee to Protect Journalists (1), Committee to Protect Journalists (2), International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2)

On 25 May, Burkina Faso’s transitional president, Ibrahim Traoré, signed into law an amended charter that extends the country’s military-led transition to democracy by up to five years. Under the previous charter, adopted in October 2022, shortly after the coup d’état that brought Traoré to power, the transition had been due to end on 1 July 2024, but elections have not been organised. The amended charter authorises the president to compete in the transitional elections and provides for the creation of a new organ called the ‘korag’, which is to ‘monitor and control the implementation of the country’s strategic vision in all areas and by all means.’ Its ‘composition, organisation and functioning’ are left to the discretion of the president. The amended charter was agreed in a consultative, national meeting attended by representatives of civil society, the military and some legislators in the transitional assembly but boycotted by most political parties.

Sources: Jeune Afrique, Amended Transitional Charter, 2024, Transitional Charter, 2022, France 24