Afghanistan deadliest place for journalists: RSF

KABUL has emerged as the deadliest country for journalists worldwide, says a report from Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

In 2018, 15 journalists were killed in Afghanistan, followed by Syria with 11 deaths, the Paris-based watchdog said in its annual report on Tuesday.

The increased deaths of journalists in Afghanistan were linked in part to bombings and shootings targeting media workers, according to the report.

At least nine journalists, including six Radio Free Europe reporters, lost their lives in a double bombing in the nation’s high-security capital in April.

At least 63 journalists around the globe were killed in the line of duty in 2018 when violence against reporters rose 15 percent compared to 2017.

The group said in its annual report that Afghanistan was the world‘s deadliest country for journalists in 2018, with 15 deaths, followed by Syria.

Eleven journalists and media activists were killed in Syria in 2018, the RSF report said. Journalists continue to take greater risks to cover the war in Syria, it added.

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, more than 200 journalists covering the conflict have been killed, including three American reporters.

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