The ruling military junta in Mali has launched a procedure to suspend broadcasts by French state-funded international RFI radio and France 24 television, accusing the news outlets of reporting "false allegations" of abuse by the Malian army.
The allegations were made by the head of the United Nations rights commission Michelle Bachelet and rights group Human Rights Watch, then reported in news reports by RFI and France 24 this week, the junta said in a statement published on Thursday.
Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that Malian soldiers were responsible for killing at least 71 civilians since early December.