PARIS (voa) – A Paris-based organization monitoring news media rights worldwide is reporting an increase in the number of journalists killed last year, with Colombia and Afghanistan identified as the most dangerous areas.
The World Association of Newspapers says 60 journalists and other media workers were killed in the year 2001, compared to 53 the previous year. The group says Latin America is the most dangerous region with 16 journalists killed. Of these, 10 died in Colombia, as the result of a decades-old civil war. The Colombia total was the highest death toll for any single country.
The struggle against terrorism in Afghanistan claimed the lives of eight journalists, and four were killed in the Philippines.
Two journalists died in the United States – one in the World Trade Center attack and the other from anthrax poisoning.
The death toll for the year 2001 was an increase over the preceding year, but an improvement over 1999 when about 70 were killed.
The Paris-based World Association of Newspapers represents 18,000 periodicals, agencies and other press organizations around the world.
