GLOBAL PRAYER NETWORK: 69 journalists killed in 2015 by radical Muslims, warfare, and other dangers

Senin, 18 Januari 2016

69 journalists killed in 2015 by radical Muslims, warfare, and other dangers

By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS - January 14, 2016) -- At least 69 journalists were killed due to their work in 2015, and two-fifths died at the hands of radical Islamic groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

More than 66 percent of the total killed were singled out for murder. At least 28 of the murder victims received threats before they were killed.

Islamic radicals killed 28 journalists last year, with nine of those in France, which was second only to Syria as the most dangerous country for the press in 2015.

In Paris, Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack that killed eight journalists at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January.

CPJ is also investigating the deaths of at least 26 more journalists during the year to determine whether their deaths were linked to their assignments.

At least five journalists were killed in each of the following countries: Iraq, Brazil, Bangladesh, South Sudan, and Yemen.

In the past few years, deaths of journalists in Syria outnumbered those in the rest of the world. The number declined in 2015 because many news organizations chose not to send reporters to Syria and local journalists fled into exile.

CPJ attempted to investigate reports that up to 35 journalists from Mosul were missing, dead, or held captive by Islamic State. But with the militant group’s lock on information, CPJ could confirm the deaths of only a handful.

Photo captions: 1) Gleydson Carvalho was killed live, on the air. 2) Mark Ellis.

About the writer: Mark Ellis is senior correspondent for the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net), and also founder of www.GodReports.com, a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church around the world. He is also the co-host for "Windows on the World" with ANS Founder, Dan Wooding, on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network (http://hsbn.tv).