TV station France 24 says Burkina decision to halt broadcast based on unfounded accusations

France 24 on Monday expressed regret over a decision by Burkina Faso's military government to suspend broadcast of its programme and said the move was based on "unfounded accusations." Earlier this month, France 24 TV aired an interview with Yezid Mebarek, also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, an Al Qaeda leader, sparking outrage within Burkina's military government which accused the chain of providing a platform for what it called hate speech.

"The channel never gave him the floor directly," France 24 - which is funded by the French state - said, adding it chose to only report what the interviewee said through a studio conversation with one of its journalists. Relations between Paris and Ouagadougou have deteriorated sharply since Burkina Faso's military seized power in a coup last October.

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