Thousands gathered in Abidjan to support opposition leader Tidjane Thiam
General News
Mali
UN experts condemned summary executions in Sebabougou after the Malian army and Wagner forces arrested villagers. Protesters, including political parties and civil society, rallied against the junta’s plan to dissolve political parties and extend Assimi Goïta’s rule without elections.
Mali Dialogue Recommends Military Leader as President, Calls for Dissolution of Political Parties
A national conference organized by Mali’s military junta has recommended
officially naming coup leader Gen. Assimi Goïta as president and dissolving all
political parties. The move, seen by critics as an attempt to legitimize military rule
and suppress opposition, may further delay a return to democratic governance. The
proposals are not yet binding but signal a shift toward deeper military control.
Burkina Faso Junta Arrests Journalists in Escalating Crackdown on Media Freedom
Burkina Faso’s military junta has arrested three prominent
journalists—Guezouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba, and Luc Pagbelguem—amid a
growing clampdown on press freedom, according to Human Rights Watch. The
arrests came after a press conference by the Journalists Association on March 21
denouncing restrictions on the media. The association was dissolved the next day.
The journalists’ current whereabouts are unknown. This development aligns with
a wider repression trend in the Alliance of Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Mali, and
Niger), where military governments have sidelined ECOWAS, embraced Russian
support, and suppressed independent media. HRW notes that many journalists
have fled the country amid threats of imprisonment, torture, and forced
conscription. The environment for press freedom has deteriorated drastically,
with only state-aligned narratives remaining.