Burkina Faso government extends internet suspension amid protests

FILE PHOTO: Civil organisations hold a protest following an attack on a gendarmerie post that killed 32 people, calling for Burkina Faso's President Roch Kabore to resign and for departure of French forces that patrol the country, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Anne Mimault

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Burkina Faso's government, facing mounting public anger over repeated killings by Islamist militants, extended its suspension of mobile internet service on Wednesday while offering conflicting reasons for why access was cut in the first place.

The authorities cut mobile internet on Saturday, which they later justified by citing a legal provision related to "the quality and security of networks and services and the respect of obligations of national defence and public security."