Mali has banned French channel TV5 Monde over inaccurate coverage of a May 3 protest, marking the latest action against media outlets. France 24 and RFI have been blocked for three years, and Djoliba TV News had its signal cut last December. Mali, like Burkina Faso and Niger, is governed by a military regime.

Mali’s media regulatory body announced that it is banning a French television channel in the country over "defamatory remarks" made regarding a demonstration in the capital earlier this month. The High Authority for Communication issued a letter on Tuesday, revealing that it had cut the signal of French channel TV5 Monde after a news anchor claimed that "hundreds of security forces were mobilized to prevent demonstrators from accessing" the Palais de la Culture during a May 3 protest. The authority clarified that this statement was false, asserting that "the forces of law and order were present at the Palais de la Culture to secure the demonstrators."

TV5 Monde has yet to comment on the decision.

This latest move is part of an ongoing series of actions by Malian authorities targeting media outlets. The signals of France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) have been blocked for three years. Additionally, Mali’s private TV station, Djoliba TV News, had its signal cut off for six months last December due to a debate that questioned the official version of a foiled coup attempt in neighboring Burkina Faso.

Like Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali is currently governed by a military regime that came to power following a coup. The regimes have formed a coalition known as the Alliance of Sahel States.