PARIS, May 3 (KUNA) -- Coinciding with "World Press Freedom Day," Reporters Without Borders (RWB) slammed, on Thursday, "the furious pace of physical attacks on news providers" which resulted in the deaths of 21 journalists and six Bloggers so far in 2012.
Many of the killed journalists died in Syria and Somalia. RWB lamented the rate of deaths and said that one journalist had died every five days since January 1.
The press freedom body also published a list of 41 "predators of freedom to inform" who are accused of targeting the press. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Islamist militias in Somalia were added to the list of predators who have killed and regularly attacked journalists.
These two "predators" are leaders in repression of the press and have shown "they are capable of acting like outright butchers," RWB said.
A statement from the NGO said that authoritarian regimes around the world were determined that "there be no witness to (their) crimes" and they wanted to stifle any voice of opposition.
New abuses were cited by governments or militant groups in Nigeria and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt (SCAF) was also named for "violating freedom of information." North Korea, Pakistan and Azerbaijan were also prominent among those criticized for impeding press freedom.
Iran and Sudan were labeled as "predators, and Yemen was put under close scrutiny by RWB after the departure of strong-man President Ali Abdallah Saleh.
The NGO called for greater vigilance and application of international rules to protect journalists, both foreign and local, and also people working with them.
RWB "calls on governments to implement international provisions on the protection of journalists in an effective manner. Five years after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1738, a status report is urgently needed on the specific steps taken to implement it," the press body said.
"Governments must accept their responsibilities and obligations under paragraphs 6 and 7 to do their utmost to prevent violations of international humanitarian law against journalists and to end impunity for such violations," it added. (End) jk.nfm KUNA 031155 May 12NNNN