35 journalists killed around the world in first half of 2021

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) on Tuesday reported that 35 journalists were killed around the world in the first half of 2021.

"In the first six months of the year, 35 journalists were killed in 21 countries around the world," the Geneva-based NGO said in a statement. The same number was recorded in the first half of 2020, but the annual figure was 92.

Among the 2021 victims are five reporters in Afghanistan, three in each of Mexico and Pakistan, and two journalists in each of Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and India.

There was one victim in each of the following countries: Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Gaza, Greece, Haiti, Lebanon, Nigeria, Somalia, Turkey, the United States, and Yemen.

The organization explained that the majority of the journalists were deliberately targeted, with terrorist groups behind nearly a third of the killings.

Nearly half of the deaths occurred in areas of armed combat, including Burkina Faso, Ethiopia's Tigray, Nagorno-Karabakh, Afghanistan, Somalia, Gaza, North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Pakistan.

The PEC Secretary-General, Blaise Lempen, urged the authorities in the countries where the killings took place to investigate the perpetrators and hold them accountable.

"For the remainder of the year, we are particularly concerned about the situation of the media in Afghanistan, and in particular of women journalists in that country, due to the withdrawal of NATO troops," he added.

In addition, there have been more than 1,580 coronavirus deaths among journalists in 78 countries since March 2020.