Media freedom group sounds alarm on increased security risks for local journalists in Africa’s Sahel

Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A media freedom group says local journalists in the African Sahel are facing increased security risks as extremist attacks and military coups have shaken the region in recent years. Reporters Without Borders says at least two community radio journalists were killed and two kidnapped by armed groups in Mali and Chad since November last year. Three nations in the Sahel, an arid swath of land south of the Sahara, have been wracked by coups in recent years. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are now ruled by military leaders who took power by force, pledging to provide more security to citizens.