The Sahel is no longer waiting for others to tell its story. 🇧🇫🇲🇱🇳🇪

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have launched Tafouk TV, the joint television network of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The channel began broadcasting from Bamako on 16 September 2026 and is designed to strengthen information sovereignty, showcase Sahelian cultures and languages, and provide coverage of the activities of the three AES states.

And this is bigger than just another television station.

For years, the Sahel has largely depended on foreign media organizations to interpret its politics, conflicts, development and transformation for the rest of the world.

Now Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are building their own media infrastructure.

Their own cameras.
Their own journalists.
Their own languages.
Their own platforms.
Their own perspective.

Tafouk TV broadcasts in French and English alongside regional languages including Bambara, Mooré, Fulfulde and Hausa.

This is what information sovereignty looks like in practice.

The AES is not only building cooperation in defence and diplomacy. It is also building institutions capable of communicating directly with its people and the wider world.

The Sahel is learning to speak for itself. And this time, the microphone is in its own hands. 🌍🔥

#BurkinaFaso #Mali #Niger #Sahel