69 JOURNALISTS KILLED WORLDWIDE IN 2015: REPORT

New York, 18 Rabiul Awal 1437/30 December 2015 (MINA) – Sixty-nine journalists were killed globally while on duty in 2015, according to figures released Tuesday by a nonprofit organization.

Syria was the deadliest place for journalists during the past year, where 13 journalists were killed, said the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“These journalists [in conflict zones] are the most vulnerable,” Joel Simon, the group’s executive director told Al Jazeera America. “This is, clearly based on the data, an incredible risk for journalists.”

Daesh has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 10 journalists, according to the report that claims the militants, along with al-Qaeda killed a total of 18 reporters.

With eight journalists killed in an attack on the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France ranked second on the list. Al-Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for that attack.

Some of the 25 “unmotivated murders” listed in the report might be linked to Daesh and al-Qaeda, data shows. The deaths are classified as such when attackers are unknown. The possible connections of militants’ to those attacks have been made by checking social media accounts.

Third on the list was Brazil that witnessed the murders of six journalists, including radio broadcaster who often criticized local police and politicians. He was shot to death in August during a broadcast of his afternoon show.

Five journalists were killed each in Bangladesh, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen. In Bangladesh, extremist groups are suspected in the deaths of four bloggers and a publisher. In South Sudan, five journalists traveling with a local official were killed by unidentified gunmen.

And in Yemen, most of the murders were done by militiamen allegedly affiliated with the anti-government Houthi movement and its allies.

The committee’s report includes the murders of two U.S. reporters who were shot in August by a former co-worker during a live broadcast.

The attacker later shot himself after a police chase. “Journalists are a target and this (just confirms it,” said Simon. “This is a global threat.”

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders recently released a similar report that totaled 110 journalists killed in 2015. (T/P011/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)