21, Sep 2018

The number of journalists and media workers who have been killed in Afghanistan in 2018 is 14, AFP reported on September 21, saying that this makes “the country the deadliest in the world for the media.” 13 of these were journalists, which is “the highest number killed in Afghanistan in a single year” since the war began, AFP noted. Since the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and unseated the Taliban, 60 journalists and media workers have been killed there, amounting to an average of around three being killed per year, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). RSF data indicates that the majority of deaths–39–have taken place after NATO combat troops exited Afghanistan at the end of 2014, with the resurgence of the Taliban and “the newly emerged Islamic State” in the country, AFP said.