Reporting from global hotspots is a deadly business.
Seventy journalists were killed in 2013, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, with the largest percentage of those death coming from Syria. Overall, the number of deaths was down slightly from the 74 reporters killed in 2012, though the number could rise, as CPJ is still looking into 25 more journalist deaths to see if they are work-related.
The Syrian Civil War resulted in the deaths of 29 journalists this year. That brings the total number of reporters killed covering the conflict in that country to 63, the CPJ said.
That wasn’t the only danger journalists reporting from the Syrian front lines faced. Kidnappings were a persistent problem with 60 journalists snatched during the year. More than 30 abducted journalists are still missing.
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Iraq and Egypt were the second and third most deadly places for journalists. Ten reporters died while working in Iraq and six were killed in Egypt — both places have been rocked by violence and political tumult during the last 12 months. The Middle East was by far the bloodiest region for reporting, with two-thirds of journalist deaths in the field taking place in countries in that part of the world.
Journalists died in a number of ways. Forty four percent were murdered and 36 percent were killed in combat or crossfire.
One of the few places that saw mild improvements in terms of safety was Mexico. The country has been roiled by violence stemming from the drug trade, but for the first time in 10 years, no journalists were killed in the country in 2013.
The CPJ has been chronicling the deaths of reporters since 1992.