"We consider this to be unacceptable. We deplore this decision and the unfounded accusations" on which it was based, a foreign policy spokeswoman for the bloc, Nabila Massrali, told journalists in Brussels.

"By attacking the freedom of the press, the freedom to inform and to be informed, the junta is continuing and confirming that it is pushing ahead regardless," she said.

Mali's ruling junta on Wednesday said it was barring broadcasts of the two French outlets, complaining they had falsely accused the army of committing abuses.

RFI (Radio France Internationale) and France 24 cover African news extensively and have a strong following in the former French colony.

The junta, which seized power in August 2020, said there had been "false accusations" in a report early in the week in which RFI aired comments from alleged victims of abuse by the army and shadowy Russian private-security group Wagner.