Burkina Faso expels two journalists amid growing anti-France sentiments
The action against the two correspondents of Le Monde and Liberation comes days after the military government of the African country banned the France 24 news channel.
A man watches a television showing the cut signal of the France 24 channel, hours after the ruling junta in Burkina Faso decided to suspend the channel
Burkina Faso has expelled correspondents from France's Le Monde and Liberation dailies amid rising public opinion in the African country against the former colonial power.
The move comes a few days after the military government of Burkina Faso ordered France 24 news channel and Radio France Internationale (RFI) off air.
Le Monde said it "condemns in the strongest terms" the "arbitrary decision" to expel its correspondent, Sophie Douce, and her colleague from Liberation, Agnes Faivre.
Burkina Faso, which witnessed two coups last year, is battling an insurgency that spilt over in 2015 from neighbouring Mali, which is also run by the military.
Both have vowed to recover land seized by the insurgents but have emphasised national "sovereignty" over the strategy.
In both countries, tensions with France at the government level have been accompanied by anti-French demonstrations and a growing alliance with Russia.
In March, the Burkina junta scrapped a 1961 accord with France on military assistance, only weeks after it told the French ambassador and troops supporting its anti-insurgency campaign to leave the country.
Le Monde said journalists Douce and Faive were summoned by authorities on Friday evening and given 24 hours to leave the country. They landed in Paris on Sunday morning, it said.
On Monday, the junta suspended broadcasts by France 24 after the channel interviewed the head of Al Qaeda in North Africa, saying it was "legitimising the terrorist message".
In December, the junta suspended RFI, accusing the radio station of airing a "message of intimidation" attributed to a "terrorist chief".
More than 10,000 civilians, troops and police have been killed, according to one NGO estimate, and at least two million people have been displaced.
Official figures say insurgents effectively control about 40 percent of the country.
Junta leader Traore vowed to recover lost territory after he took power.
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