A total of 93 journalists were killed in 2016 around the world while performing their professional duties, the International Federation of Journalists [IFJ] said Friday.
The killings, both targeted murders and crossfire incidents, occurred in 23 countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East and Arab World regions.
The IFJ said the figure, 19 less than in 2015, was for journalists killed in targeted attacks, bomb blasts or caught in the cross-fire. A further 29 died in plane crashes in Colombia and Russia.
“Any decrease in violence against journalists and media personnel is always welcome but these figures… leave little room for comfort and reinforce hopes for the end of the security crisis in the media sector,” IFJ president Philippe Leruth said in a statement.
The federation also noted the death of 20 Brazilian reporters in a plane crash over the city of Medellin in Colombia and the death of 9 Russian reporters in a plane crash near Russian resort city of Sochi.
The 2016 figures are down from 112 deaths in 2015 with decrease in violence in Honduras, Libya, the Philippines and South Sudan with the simultaneous increase in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq and Mexico.
The IFJ said among those killed were 15 journalists in Iraq, 13 in Afghanistan, 11 in Mexico, eight in Yemen, six in both Guatemala and in Syria, and five in both India and Pakistan.
Regionally, the Middle East was deadliest, with 30 killings, followed by the Asia-Pacific with 28, Latin America with 24, Africa with eight and Europe with three, the watchdog said.
Source: News Agencies
