More Journalists Killed In Iraq War Than 22 Years Of Vietnam War

Journalist death toll in Iraq exceeds that of Vietnam, Reporters Without Borders says

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(Paris-AP, Jan. 4, 2006 2:59 PM) _ More journalists and media staffers have been killed during the Iraq war than during 22 years of conflict in Vietnam, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday.

Worldwide, at least 63 journalists were killed last year, the press freedom group said in its annual report. That was up from at least 53 killed in 2004, the group said.

Earlier this week, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said 47 reporters were killed in 2005. The group said the discrepancy resulted from its standards for determining who was a journalist and whether someone died as a result of working as a reporter.

Reporters Without Borders said Iraq was the world's deadliest place for media members for the third consecutive year -- with 24 journalists and five assistants killed, the group said.

Most victims in Iraq died in insurgent and terrorist attacks, while three were killed by the U.S. military, Reporters Without Borders said.

A total of 76 journalists and media staff have been killed since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, the group said. That was more than the 63 reporters killed in the 1955-1977 conflict in Vietnam, the group said, citing figures from U.S.-based press advocacy group Freedom Forum.

Jean-Francois Juillard, director of information for Reporters Without Borders, said fewer journalists and media organizations covered the Vietnam conflict, and media members in Iraq can be targeted by insurgents.

"Journalists are often not considered witnesses, or independent observers, but as enemies" in Iraq, Juillard said.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, which was founded in 1985, did not have its own figures on journalist killings during the Vietnam conflict.

In the Philippines, the country with the second-highest death toll, seven journalists were killed by politicians, businessmen or drug traffickers, the group said.

As the new year began, 126 reporters and 3 media assistants were behind bars around the world. China had the most jailed journalists as of Jan. 1 -- 32. Cuba followed with 24 and Ethiopia 17.