Algeria bans pan-Africa media outlet Jeune Afrique

Algerian authorities have reportedly banned a pan-African media outlet in the latest attack on press freedom in the North African country.

Jeune Afrique magazine released a statement on Thursday accusing Algiers of removing the French-language publication from circulation.

"Since April 23rd, our magazine has been absent from the kiosks in Algeria," the statement said.

"The absence is not our choice, but a decision that was imposed on us by the Algerian government,"

The statement added that Algerian authorities have claimed that the magazine has stopped being imported as an austerity measure to save foreign currency.

Earlier this month, the Paris-based outlet published a controversial interview with Morocco's foreign minister.

Nasser Bourita accused Algeria of being directly involved in Iran's support of the Polisario, an independence movement in the disputed Western Sahara territory.

In 2018, Reporters Without Borders ranked Algeria 136 out of 180 in terms of press freedoms.

This week, an Algerian blogger was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of providing intelligence to "agents of a foreign power".