Media rights organisations, including Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Middle East-based Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) have accused French and Malian authorities of wanting to control the flow of information.
The French government however insisted that it was too risky for the media to come close to the war zone, adding that the restrictions were for their own safety.
But Paris-based RSF disagrees.
In a terse statement, it claimed that, “It is imperative that journalists should be free to verify the situation on the ground for themselves without having to make do with the information provided by the authorities of the countries involved in the conflict, especially when the first claims of war crimes by soldiers are being made.
The current situation constitutes a grave obstruction to the ability of journalists to do their job. In war time, it is up to journalists and their news organisations, not the military, to determine the risk they are prepared to take in order to gather information.”
Reports said several journalists who were given permission to travel with French armoured vehicles as far as Sévaré were obliged to leave the convoy in Ségou, some distance short of their destination, yesterday morning.
“However, with the combination of modern technology, social media and the fact that courageous journalists continue to battle to do their jobs in Mali, the battle to restrict the truth is set to be a major challenge in itself,” a reliable source from Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) said.
Nigeria which sent troops to Mali recently is appealing to other African nations to do likewise.

http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/journalists-barred-from-covering-mali-war/