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Media war toll rises to 51 by Dominic Timms 
Media war toll rises to 51 Dominic Timms Friday August 27, 2004 The murder of Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni takes the number of journalists and media staff killed in Iraq to over 50, the International News Safety Institute said today. Baldoni's death at the hands of militant group the Islamic Army means that 51 media workers have died in Iraq since the start of the conflict 17 months ago. "The murder of Baldoni is horrible beyond words. Iraq continues to be a ghastly war for the news media," said the INSI director, Rodney Pinder. "We pleaded in vain at the start of this war for all sides to respect the safety of journalists. We again appeal to all of those with guns to recognise the neutrality of the news media and allow them to go about their business free from threat or harm." The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, today condemned Baldoni's murder as "an act of barbarity", after his captors acted on earlier threats that he would be executed if Italy did not withdraw its troops from Iraq. The 56-year-old freelance journalist, who had recently been working for Milan weekly Diario, had been missing since August 19 when he disappeared en route to Najaf, the scene of fierce fighting between US troops and supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The INSI said frontline staff including reporters, cameramen, photographers and producers had borne the brunt of the killings. The organisation calculates that 37 journalists have been killed since the war started in March last year and the ITN cameraman Fred Nerac is still missing. Advertiser links Internaxx, International Investing Internaxx offshore broker. Real-time access to major stock... internaxx.lu Trade Your Own Foreign Currency Account Invest in the global foreign exchange markets with Gci. Try... gcitrading.com Welcome to ING Direct Our hassle free, no catches savings account offers everyone... ingdirect.co.uk Nerac disappeared at the start of the war at the same time as a "friendly fire" incident killed ITN correspondent Terry Lloyd and his Lebanese translator Hussein Osman. Alongside Australian cameraman Paul Moran, the ITN team were among the first journalists to be killed in the war, which has so far claimed the lives of 14 other media workers including translators and drivers. The INSI said the Iraq conflict ranked as one of the bloodiest for news organisations in recent history. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 58 journalists died during the Algerian civil war of 1991-1996, while the International Federation of Journalists says 63 journalists died in the Vietnam war. "We started collating figures at the beginning of the 1990s and the death toll Iraq is now worryingly comparable to both the Bosnian and Algerian conflicts," said the IFJ project director, Oliver Money-Kyrle. |