Burkina Faso Journalists Bayala & Traoré Reunited, Oulon Still Missing

Two journalists, Adama Bayala and Alain Traoré, have finally been freed after nearly 14 months of disappearance and forced conscription by the Burkinabe military. Their release on 17 September 2025 marks a hard-won victory for press freedom advocates in Burkina Faso, even as concerns remain for their colleague, Atiana Serge Oulon, still missing.

Bayala, a columnist for private TV station BF1, and Traoré, editor-in-chief of Radio Omega’s national languages bureau (known as “Alain Alain”), were abducted in June and July 2024 respectively. After months of absence under murky circumstances, they were found and returned to their families in good health (though Bayala is reported to be weakened) in the early hours of 17 September. Relatives described their return as nothing short of a “miracle.”

The authorities have acknowledged that Bayala was forcibly conscripted in October 2024; while no official statement was made about Traoré, his simultaneous reappearance alongside Bayala and others previously conscripted makes it probable he too was forced into military service.

However, Atiana Serge Oulon, editor of L’Événement newspaper, remains missing. His release had been announced by activists in late July, but he has yet to be reunited with his family or publicly confirmed as safe. RSF and other press freedom organizations continue to demand transparency regarding his fate.

This development is part of a larger wave of enforced conscriptions and disappearances of journalists in Burkina Faso, especially under the military regime that came to power following the 2022 coup. Journalists performing critical, investigative, or satirical work have been particularly targeted.

While the release of Bayala and Traoré represents progress, it’s only part of the justice still needed. Families, colleagues, and international rights bodies urge the government to account for all missing journalists, to end arbitrary conscription of media workers, and to establish legal protections so that no journalist lives in fear of abduction or disappearance merely for reporting.

To read the full story: https://tjcproject.org/burkina-faso-journalists-adama-bayala-alain-traore-freed-fate-of-atiana-serge-oulon-still-unclear/