Paris : A total of 110 journalists were killed in connection with their work or for unclear reasons in 2015, according to report issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday.
Sixtyseven of them were targeted because of their work or were killed while reporting, which brought the total number of journalists killed to 787 in a decade since 2005, the report said.
However, it was not possible to clearly establish the circumstances or motives of this year’s 43 other deaths of journalists.
The country with the biggest number of victims this year was Iraq with nine confirmed deaths, followed by Syria which also accounted for nine. Both countries are witnessing armed conflicts and the presence of the Islamic State terror group.
Third on the list was France, where eight journalists were killed during a jihadi attack on the the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January.
Other dangerous countries for journalists are Yemen (six deaths), South Sudan (six deaths), India (five) and Mexico (three).
“The creation of a specific mechanism for enforcing international law on the protection of journalists is absolutely essential,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
“Non-state groups perpetrate targeted atrocities while too many governments do not comply with their obligations under international law.”
“The 110 journalists killed this year need a response that matches the emergency,” Deloire added.
“A special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for the safety of journalists must be appointed without delay,” the RSF insist.