Spokeswoman says it has experienced interference since Wednesday, with other international broadcasters also jammed

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

BBC World News and other international broadcasters are being deliberately jammed by forces inside Syrian, according to the corporation's foreign editor.

Jon Williams said on Friday that the BBC's international TV network was being blocked in what he described as a "blatant violation of international TV regulations".

He said on Twitter: "BBC World News [is] being deliberately jammed from within Syria. Unclear who responsible, but blatant violation of international TV regulations".

A spokeswoman for the BBC confirmed it had experienced interference since Wednesday. In a statement, the corporation said: "The BBC, together with a number of other broadcasters, is experiencing deliberate, intermittent interference to its transmissions to audiences in Europe and the Middle East. Impacted services include the BBC World News and BBC Arabic television channels and BBC World Service radio services in English and Arabic.

"Deliberate interference such as the jamming of transmissions is a blatant violation of international regulations concerning the use of satellites and we strongly condemn any practice designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information."

Syria has become an increasingly perilous country for the media since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

In the past fortnight, a journalist for a pro-government TV station was killed and a Ukrainian journalist working for Russian news outlets was believed to have been kidnapped, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The corporation's international services have frequently faced interference from forces overseas, most notably in Iran.

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