BERLIN, December 29. /TASS/. At least 67 journalists were killed this year around the world "while reporting or because of their work," one more than in 2014, according to the round-up published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday.
Syria remains the most dangerous country for reporters for the third year in a row. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group is responsible for 40% of journalist deaths in the country in 2015, the report says.
Other dangerous countries for journalists are Iraq, Brazil, Bangladesh, South Sudan and Yemen. Five journalists were killed in each of these countries due to their profession.
The attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly magazine that killed 10 employees among others in January "made France the third deadliest country for journalists in 2015."
The report also mentions cases when 43 journalists were killed in 2015 for unclear reasons "because of the lack of thorough and impartial official investigations, the lack of good faith on the part of governments, or the difficulty of investigating in unstable or lawless regions."
"These 67 deaths bring to 787 the total number of journalists killed in connection with their work since 2005," according to the report.
The authors say this situation is attributable to "deliberate violence against journalists" and is indicative of "the failure of the initiatives so far taken to protect media personnel."