Ten years ago, French radio journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were murdered by a commando from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the north-eastern Malian town of Kidal. Since then, the security situation in Africa’s Sahel region has continually worsened. Today, the vast area stretching from Mauritania to Sudan has become a no man's land for journalists, a black hole for news.
For the past decade, several countries in the Sahel region – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – have been facing a major Islamist insurgency. Western journalists are no longer welcome in the region, particularly those from the French press.
But the situation of media professionals in the region is even more critical. Local journalists are on the front lines, as they find themselves censored, attacked in their homes or sent death threats via social media. Today, being a journalist in the Sahel region is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. But it’s the citizens of these countries who suffer the most, since the right to information is a prerequisite for freedom.
This special 22-minute report paints a damning picture of the media landscape in the Sahel region. It is also a tribute to our slain colleagues from our sister radio station Radio France Internationale (RFI), Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, who were assassinated exactly ten years ago on November 2, 2013. The exact circumstances of their deaths have still not been fully determined.
Read moreFamilies still demanding truth over murder of RFI journalists
