Mali’s High Authority for Communications has suspended the French channels TF1 and LCI, accusing them of broadcasting “unverified and false claims” about the country’s fuel crisis.
The regulator said it objected to three reports aired by the channels, which referred to a fuel sales ban, blockades in the regions of Kayes and Nioro, and the advance of armed groups toward Bamako.
Mali has been grappling with a severe fuel shortage for months due to a blockade imposed by the al-Qaeda-linked group JNIM, resulting in long queues at petrol stations and worsening insecurity.
The suspension comes as several Western embassies urge their citizens to leave the country, governed by a military junta alongside Niger and Burkina Faso, amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation across the Sahel.
