RSF calls on Russian-backed military government to restore access to suspended French news outlets.
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Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Paris-based international press freedom watchdog, has called on Niger's Russian-backed military government to lift its sudden suspension of nine French media outlets, condemning the move as abusive and a direct assault on press freedom in the West African nation.
The junta, which seized power in a 2023 coup, ordered the ban without public explanation, cutting off access to multiple French-language news sources for audiences inside Niger. RSF urged the authorities to immediately reverse the decision and restore unrestricted access to independent journalism.
The suspension comes amid broader regional instability, with neighboring Mali — also governed by a Russian-backed military administration — experiencing its own deepening political and security crisis. Analysts note that the parallel crackdowns on French-language media across the Sahel reflect a wider pattern of deteriorating press conditions in former French colonies now operating under military rule.
RSF's intervention has drawn renewed international attention to the accelerating erosion of media freedoms across the region.