Mali’s military junta issued an order banning the media from reporting on the activities of political parties and associations.

The order was issued by Mali’s top communications authority on Thursday and posted on social media. It works across all forms of media including television, radio, online and print newspapers.

The ban comes a day after the junta suspended all political party activities until further notice. The military cited the need to maintain public order as the reason behind the ban.

Communications authorities told a press freedom group that media outlets that breached the ban could receive warnings or even be shut down.

Local and international media groups condemned the development.

The Malian media association Maison de la Presse (Press House for short) encourages journalists to “keep your head high, stay united, and mobilize to defend citizens’ right to information.” It also encourages journalists to continue covering the country’s politics.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the junta to immediately lift the ban.

Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program director, said: “Mali citizens have a right to be informed of developments at this critical moment in the country’s political life, and the media cannot be prevented from doing their work, especially on a topic of such great public interest. .”, said in a statement.

Mali’s National Human Rights Commission, which advises the government, also expressed concern about the move.

“Rather than calming the social climate, these restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms may cause trouble and tension that the country does not need,” it said in a statement.

The crackdown in Mali comes amid wider instability in the West African country. Mali has experienced two military coups since 2020 and is grappling with threats posed by militant groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Conditions for media coverage there are already dangerous, and those operating outside the capital, Bamako, risk being targeted by militant groups.

French journalist Olivier Dubois was held hostage for nearly two years by an al-Qaeda-affiliated group that kidnapped him in the northeastern city of Gao in 2021.

He was released last March along with a U.S. aid worker who was also kidnapped.

According to Reporters Without Borders, of the 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 indicates the best environment, Mali ranks 113th.

Some of the information in this report comes from The Associated Press.