06 December 2021

Mobile internet connectivity in Burkina Faso has been down for a week and shows no signs of resuming as protestors call on president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré to resign over the wave of killings by militants.

A report on newswire Reuters said the death toll from the latest attack on security forces and civilians this month has climbed to more than 50, sparking protests against the government. On Saturday, mobile internet connectivity went down as the protests raged.

NetBlocks which monitors disruptions to telecommunications connectivity said on Monday in a statement and on Twitter that “mobile internet remains disrupted in Burkina Faso as of Monday,” with surveillance data confirming that “service was cut” from 10:30 pm on Saturday night.

“Metrics corroborate user reports of mobile data disruptions on providers including Orange,” it added. “The data blackout is ongoing as of Monday morning and is likely to limit the free flow of information online and suppress news coverage of events on the ground.”

However, fixed-line and Wi-Fi services “appear largely unaffected by the disruption”.

Other African countries that have recently disrupted telecommunications connectivity include eSwatini, Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Northern African Wireless Communications contacted the Burkinabè watchdog.

Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des Postes (ARCEP) for comment but received no response before going to press.