Two Burkinabe journalists who had been missing for more than a year have regained their freedom, their families confirmed to AFP this week. Adama Bayala of private TV station BF1 disappeared in June 2024 in Ouagadougou, while Omega Media’s editor-in-chief Alain Traore, widely known as “Alain Alain,” was seized by armed men the following month. Both men were released at the start of the week, with relatives saying they are frail but in stable condition.

Their release comes amid rising concerns over press freedom under Burkina Faso’s military junta, which took power in September 2022. Rights groups have accused the regime of forcibly enrolling dissenting voices — including journalists and activists — into the army under a controversial mobilisation decree to fight jihadist insurgents. In July, five other journalists abducted under similar circumstances were freed, though investigative editor Atiana Serge Oulon, taken from his home in June 2024, remains missing.

The junta continues to clamp down on perceived critics, with dozens of activists and opposition figures still detained. High-ranking military officials, including former gendarmerie chief Evrard Somda, have also been arrested on allegations of conspiracy and attempts to destabilise state institutions, further deepening fears about the shrinking civic space in the conflict-torn West African nation.