CPJ urges Syrian authorities to protect journalists' safety
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The new administration in Damascus must safeguard journalists and refrain from continuing the country's legacy as one of the world's deadliest areas for media workers, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Monday.
'CPJ urges Syria's new leaders to allow journalists and media workers safe access to information and locations to cover events, without risking being detained or questioned for their work,' the press freedom watchdog told Rudaw.
It described the country as 'one of the world's deadliest and riskiest areas for journalists,' with four journalists and media workers killed in 2024.
The toppled regime of Bashar al-Assad was responsible for persecuting journalists with 'no accountability' for years, according to CPJ, who noted that 144 journalists were killed in the country between 2011 and 2024.
Syria has been a regular feature on CPJ's Global Impunity index, topping the chart in 2023, and has among the world's worst records in punishing murderers of journalists.
During the civil war, the country's rebel-held northwest was also considered dangerous for journalists and activists.
In December, a Turkish drone strike killed two journalists who worked for an outlet affiliated with the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) while they were covering clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in northern Syria.
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