THE first six months of 2018 has been the “bloodiest reporting period” for journalists in war-torn Afghanistan, a report said on Wednesday.

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) in a report said nine journalists were killed and six others were injured during an Islamic State attack in the capital Kabul on April 30 while two others were assassinated in southeastern Khost and southern Kandahar provinces.

The AJSC called the April attack “a turning point in the nature of threats against media workers.” The committee said 10 journalists were killed during the same reporting period in 2017.

According to the report, the committee also “recorded 89 cases of violence and intimidation,” with 14 cases of physical beatings, 11 cases of bodily injury, 28 cases of intimidation and 19 cases of mistreatment, which show an all-together 22 per cent increase in comparison to the same period last year.

The AJSC said that the Taliban and Islamic State had been responsible for 37 cases while individuals affiliated to the government and security forces follow close behind with 36.

The culprits of the remaining cases are unknown.

The AJSC said that the level of violence against journalists has resulted in self-censorship among reporters, especially in provinces where the Taliban and Islamic State have a strong presence or influence such as southern Helmand and Kandahar, southeastern Ghazni and eastern Nangarhar.

“The intensity and scale of violence has been unprecedented,” the AJSC said. (Dpa/NAN)

Jul. 18, 2018 @ 11:35 GMT |