IRAQ: Journalists suffered possibly their highest death toll ever in 2004, when at least 129 reporters and media staff were killed - more than a third of them in Iraq.
"By any standards, 2004 has been a bad year, perhaps the worst year ever, for the killing of journalists and media staff," the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which released the figures, said. IFJ general secretary Mr Aidan White said journalists' growing influence on public opinion meant they were more likely to be targeted by people who felt threatened by their reports.
"Some have been deliberately sought out by crooks and hired assassins. Others have been gunned down as a result of nervous, unruly and ill-disciplined soldiering," the report said.
The toll of 129 deaths was the highest annual figure recorded by the Brussels-based group at the end of the year.
The figure includes deaths which were accidental or where journalists were killed while bystanders. It also includes people who help journalists such as drivers and translators.
Earlier in January, French media watchdog Reporters Without Borders estimated at least 53 journalists died in 2004, but this figure appeared to use narrower criteria and did not include media assistants. - (Reuters)