It's a country in crisis: a failed
coup, disputed elections, dozens of protesters killed by police and a
crackdown on independent media.
But journalists in Burundi have
hit upon a novel way of continuing to get the news out amid this
turmoil, using social media and an app more often associated with indie
bands, niche podcasts and DJ remixes.The recent trouble began in April when Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza - who's been in power for nearly a decade - announced he'd run for a third term.
Some army generals objected and tried to remove him from office, but the coup failed after two days. Nkurunziza was soon back in office, but the unrest has continued. Scores of people have been killed and more than 120,000 people have fled the country.
There's also been a crackdown on independent media in advance of the presidential elections later this month. Independent radio stations have shut down, and some studios have been trashed and burned.
"Before the coup Burundi had a vibrant independent radio sector," says the BBC's Maud Jullien, who's been covering events in the country. "Now that has been reduced to nothing."
State-run and pro-government media continues to operate, but independent journalists in the country have found a new way to get the news out. Some of them have formed an underground group called SOS Medias Burundi, which is using social media to get around state censorship. The group has a Twitter feed, a Facebook page with 13,000 likes, and radio journalists are also releasing reports using the audio application SoundCloud.
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