Burkina Faso has expelled correspondents from France’s Le Monde and Liberation dailies, the newspapers said yesterday, the latest move the junta running the west African country has taken against French media.

“Our correspondent in Burkina Faso, Sophie Douce, has been expelled from the country… at the same time as her colleague from Liberation, Agnes Faivre,” Le Monde said on its website, denouncing the move as “arbitrary” and “unacceptable”.

The two women landed in Paris early on Sunday after being expelled late on Saturday, Le Monde said. On Monday, the military junta running Burkina suspended all broadcasts by the France 24 news channel, after it interviewed the head of Al-Qaeda North Africa.

Burkina Faso, which witnessed two coups last year, is battling a jihadist insurgency that spilled over from neighbouring Mali.