The Sahel: RSF and over 500 community radio stations call for the protection of local journalism
From the Chadian city of Mongo to the Soum province in Burkina Faso, over 500 community radio stations in the Sahel and neighbouring countries have joined Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in calling for the protection of the right to local information. This appeal was officially presented on 24 September at a press conference in the Malian capital, Bamako, and broadcast in six languages via partner radio stations.
Violent attacks have plagued community radio stations in the Sahel region of Africa in the past year. At least one community radio journalist was killed in Chad; in Mali, two journalists were kidnapped in an attack that claimed the lives of their colleagues.
These crimes illustrate the continued deterioration of safety conditions for journalists working in the Sahel – the last media professionals still able to cover this zone. This notably applies to certain parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, and RSF already sounded the alarm in its report “What it is like to be a journalist in the Sahel,” published in 2023.
Community radio stations are crucial to keeping local populations informed. They provide news in the languages and formats best suited to their specific audience, and hundreds of these stations broadcast local information throughout the country. Regional, national, and international authorities must prioritise the safety of these vital news outlets.
Around twenty community radio station managers – all members of the TV and radio regulatory agency Union des radios et télévisions libres du Mali (URTEL) – gathered in Bamako on 24 September to take part in the launch of the appeal, which was signed by 547 community radio stations. Ousmane Touré, director of the community radio station Naata, which lost journalist Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla to an attack by armed gangs in November 2023, announced the appeal during a press conference. At the same time, RSF and its partner radio stations launched a campaign calling for the protection of local journalism in six languages: French, Wolof, Mooré, Haoussa, Bambara and Fulfulde.
"Community radio stations have played a key role in promoting press freedom in the Sahel since their creation in the 1990s. However, these local media outlets and their journalists are paying a heavy price as the region is gripped by instability, which is caused by armed gangs and the national authorities’ inability to guarantee their protection. At a time when two of our fellow journalists from these radio stations have been killed in recent months – and at least four are still missing, kidnapped by armed gangs – RSF, along with over 500 West African community radio stations, is calling on the regional authorities and the international community to support and protect these outlets. The future of the right to information depends on it.”
Journalists killed, newsrooms destroyed
Chadian journalist Idriss Yaya of Mongo community radio was shot dead on 1 March 2024, in the village of Djondjol. He had frequently been attacked and threatened due to his coverage of local inter-community conflicts. His killers did not spare his wife and their son.
Malian journalist Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla of the Naata community radio station in Ansongo was shot dead by assailants on his way to a training session on 7 November 2023. Journalists Saleck Ag Jiddou and Moustapha Koné from Radio Coton in Ansongo were kidnapped in the attack.
Their fellow journalists Hamadoun Nialibouly of radio Dande Douentza, based in central Mali, and Moussa M'bana Dicko of Dandé Haire, based in the north of the Mopti region, have been missing since September 2020 and April 2021, respectively.
From Niger to Burkina Faso, the region’s eroding security has ramped up pressure on journalists and community radio presenters. Some fled the zones they lived and worked in after their radios were destroyed by armed gangs; others censored their work to avoid becoming targets. In Chad, community radio broadcasters are increasingly reluctant to cover the clashes between herders and farmers due to frequent backlash.
The five priorities for protecting community radio stations:
RSF and its partner community radio stations have five key recommendations for national, regional and international authorities:
- Combat impunity for crimes committed against community radio journalists by systematically opening investigations to ensure the murderers do not go unpunished.
- Take action to secure the release of community radio journalists kidnapped by armed gangs.
- Help rebuild the community radio premises destroyed by attacks, and restore their equipment.
- Provide community radio teams with safety training.
- Recognise the importance of community radio stations and their stakeholders, particularly in media legislation.
