Drone strike in Gaza kills Al-Jazeera camera operator, injures bureau chief

Al-Jazeera camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa (left) was killed and Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh was injured in what was believed to be an Israeli drone strike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, on December 15. (File screenshot: Al-Jazeera; Photo: AFP)

CPJ is deeply saddened by the killing of Al-Jazeera Arabic camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa and the injuries suffered by his colleague,Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, in a southern Gaza drone strike on December 15, and calls on international authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the attack to hold the perpetrators to account.

Al Dahdouh, who also suffered the loss of family members in an Israeli airstrike in October, was transported to a nearby hospital in Khan Yunis, but Abu Daqqa remained trapped where the strike occurred, in a school surrounded by Israeli forces. Al-Jazeera videos show Al Dahdouh pleading for the evacuation of Abu Daqqa, but medics were unable to reach him.

CPJ is also calling for a transparent investigation into the December 15 beating of Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf by Israeli soldiers. Alkharouf was covering Friday prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem when a group of Israeli police and soldiers attacked him, according to Anadolu Agency, footage shared by The Union of Journalists in Israel, and other reports.

CPJ has also called for accountability in the case of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by an Israeli shell, according to e reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters, and Agence France-Press.

CPJ’s research showed that as of December 17 at least 64 journalists and media workers were among the more than 19,000 people killed since the Israel-Gaza wart began on October 7. About 18,000 died in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and about 1,200 in Israel. This deadly toll on journalists’ lives is coupled with harassment, detentions, and other reporting obstructions as they go about their work across the region.

More coverage and photos of the war’s unprecedented toll on journalists

Interactive map | How CPJ documents journalists’ deaths

Safety advice for journalists covering conflict and civil unrest

DRC journalists attacked, threatened ahead of election

DRC journalists (clockwise from left) Jerry Lombo Alauwa, Mao Zigabe, Neyker Tokolo, and John Kanyunyu Kyota. (Photos courtesy of the journalists)

CPJ has tracked attacks or threats against at least four journalists and the closure of at least one broadcast station since the formal start of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s election campaign period on November 19.

“Attacks on journalists Jerry Lombo Alauwa, Mao Zigabe, and Neyker Tokolo, threats against reporter John Kanyunyu Kyota, and the closure of Radio Top Lisala are stark examples of the various dangers faced by Congolese press covering ongoing election campaigns,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, in Nairobi.

“The safety of journalists is absolutely critical as the DRC approaches its nationwide elections on December 20, and authorities must ensure reporters are able to cover campaign events and voting without fear of reprisal.”

DRC President Felix Tshisikedi is running for a second term in the upcoming election against contenders including one of the leaders of the opposition Martin Fayulu, who claimed victory in the 2018 vote, and Nobel-winning gynecologist Denis Mukwege.
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Guinea blocks broadcasters and social media sites
Guinean authorities have blocked at least four radio and television outlets and access to sites including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter. Kalil Oularé, manager of the Djoma Média press group, and Sekou Bah, editor at Fim radio, told CPJ they believed their generally critical coverage of authorities played a role in the suspension of their outlets. “This is a programmed extinction of a medium known for its editorial line,” said Bah.

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Journalists Attacked

Samuel Wazizi

KILLED

Cameroonian news anchor and camera operator Samuel Wazizi died in government custody on August 17, 2019.

Police officers arrested him on August 2, saying they were looking for Wazizi to “get a certain information for their boss, the commissioner.”

On August 7, he was transferred to military custody and disappeared. In June 2020, military authorities disclosed that Wazizi had died of “severe sepsis” 10 days after that transfer.

CPJ has repeatedly called for authorities to allow an independent probe into Wazizi’s death.

Learn more about Wazizi