It was another bloody year for journalists, with turmoil in the Middle East and terrorism striking France twice in 2015.
This year, 69 journalists were killed, according to an annual report from the Committee to Protect Journalists. Islamic militants -- those tied to groups like the Islamic State, al-Shabab and al-Qaeda -- were responsible for 40% of those deaths, by far the most of any identifiable group.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2015/12/28/syrian-journalist-isis-murder/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESyria remained the most dangerous country in the world for journalists in 2015, its fourth straight year atop the list on violence against the media. The total is slightly higher than that 61 journalists that the CPJ reported killed in 2014. Since 1992, 1,175 journalists have been killed.
"Non-state actors ranging from Islamic militants to criminal gangs have become the most lethal threat to journalists worldwide, and account for the vast majority of killing that took place in the past year," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. "Reversing this terrible trend will require delivering effective justice while also ensuring that journalists on the front line have the information and support they need to stay safe."
France emerged as the second-most dangerous country for journalists, due primarily to the terrorist attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo, in which eight journalists were among the 12 people killed.
Local journalists continued to be in particular danger, with 94% of those who died were covering their own country. The most recent death occurred on Dec. 7, when a sniper shot Zakaria Ibrahim, a 19-year-old cameraman for Al-Jazeera.
The total number of journalists killed in 2015 could be higher than the figures presented in this year's CPJ report. Reporters Without Borders released a report on violence against journalists that tallied 110 deaths, with at least 67 of them targeted explicitly for their reporting.
"Region-wide, CPJ has received reports of dozens more journalists killed, but is unable to independently confirm that the individuals have in fact died and, if so, whether journalistic work was the reason," the report stated.
Among those deaths not included in the CPJ report is the shooting of Naji Jerf, who had exposed ISIS atrocities. Jerf was shot in broad daylight on Monday while walking down the street in Gaziantep, Turkey. CPJ is still investigating his death.
Those who murdered journalists in 2015 were rarely punished. The CPJ report found that there were no consequences for more than 80% of the deaths.
