DAKAR, Senegal (AP) —
Local journalists in Africa’s Sahel region are facing increased security risks, a media freedom group said Tuesday. extremist attacks And military coups have shocked the region in recent years.
Since November last year, at least two journalists from local radio stations have been killed and two kidnapped by armed groups in Mali and Chad. Reporters Without Borders said in a statement calling for the protection of local journalists.
“These crimes once again illustrate the deteriorating security situation facing journalists working in the Sahel,” said Anne Bocandé, editor-in-chief of Reporters Without Borders.
“They are still present in these areas, where no other information professional has access anymore,” she added.
Three countries in the Sahel, an arid strip of land south of the Sahara in Africa, have been ravaged by coups in recent years. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are now ruled by military leaders who seized power by force and have promised to provide greater security for their citizens.
But the security situation in the Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with record attacks and record civilian casualties by both Islamist fighters and government forces. In the first six months of this year, 3,064 civilians were killed by the violence, According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, this is a 25% increase compared to the previous six months.
Meanwhile, the ruling juntas have cracked down on political dissidents and journalists. Earlier this year, Malian authorities banned the media of reporting on the activities of political parties and associations. Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their reporting on the mass murder of civilians by the country’s armed forces.
At least three journalists disappeared in Burkina Faso in June under suspicious circumstances, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.