At least five teachers were killed Sunday in an attack by unidentified gunmen on an educational center in the southern Burkina Faso town of Bittou.
Authorities in the Center-East region had confirmed the deaths of four teachers in the incident, which they called a «barbaric attack», although the Infowakat news portal has confirmed the discovery of a fifth body in the area.
All schools in the region remained closed throughout the day on Monday as a gesture of condemnation of the massacre, with no group so far claiming responsibility for the attack.
Burkina Faso has generally experienced a significant increase in insecurity since 2015, with attacks by both Al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates, leading to a wave of internally displaced persons and refugees to other countries in the region.
On the other hand, Burkina Faso’s transitional authorities have «strongly» condemned incitement to violence and death threats against journalists in the country through messages posted on social networks «The government is concerned about the verbal excesses observed in the public space ranging from calling for physical violence and looting of property to the killing of people,» a government spokesperson has said, as reported by the Burkinabe state news agency, AIB.
Thus, he detailed that «the latest cases refer to the journalists Lamine Traoré, of the Oméga Group, and Newton Ahmed Barry, object of violent statements through social networks», while denouncing those who «whip up intolerance and disunity».
In this line, he promised to «fully assume his responsibilities» and stressed that «all useful measures have been taken to ensure freedom of the press and freedom of opinion, as well as the safety of property and persons».
Burkina Faso’s military junta announced on Saturday the suspension of Radio France Internationale’s (RFI) operations «until further notice» for giving voice to «a message of intimidation of the population attributed to a terrorist leader», in reference to a video of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a branch of Al Qaeda in the region.
In its report, RFI reported the threat made by JNIM against civilians who help the authorities in their fight against the terrorist group, which led Ouagadougou to affirm that «this medium thus contributes to a desperate maneuver of the terrorist groups to dissuade thousands of Burkinabe mobilized for the defense of the homeland».
The decision was criticized by the Africa director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Sanibou Marong, who stressed that «it is an attack on freedom of information and the right of millions of Burkinabe to have access to it».
«The security crisis that the country is going through must not be a pretext to prevent journalists from covering it in all responsibility and independence. We call on the authorities to reverse their decision in the name of the public’s right to pluralistic information,» he concluded.
