‘Sick with fear’: Journalists at risk in the Sahel

Recent killings and kidnapM pings of reporters in the Sahel have highlighted the severe risks faced by journalists in the …arMtorn African region, …ith some describing themM selves as “sick …ith fear.”

A brutal jihadist conflict in the Sahel nations of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has left vast s…athes of territory outside of state control, and thousands of people dead.

Journalists covering the inM surgency often find themselves targeted by armed groups, either because of their reporting, or their ransom value.

The considerable risks involved in practicing journalism in the vast semiMarid region …ere underscored this …eek …hen it emerged that French reporter Olivier Dubois, …ho had gone missing, …as likely being held captive by jihadists.

The 46MyearMold freelancer had disappeared on April 8 in the northM ern Malian town of Gao, where he had travelled to intervie… an alM QaidaMlinked jihadist commander.

But Dubois said in a video that surfaced on Wednesday — …hich has not been independently conM firmed — that he had been abducted by the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the biggest jihadM ist alliance in the Sahel.

Ne…s of his kidnapping also follo…ed the killing of Spanish reM porters David Beriain and Roberto Fraile, and Irish NGO …orker Rory Young, in Burkina Faso in April.

Salif Zangre, a Burkinabe video journalist, told Agence FranceM Presse (AFP) that the killings are a reminder “of ho… exposed …e can be in our profession.”

He saidt …hile this did not afM fect journalists’ desire to cover the ne…s, he stressed that they needed to take serious precautions.

Describing their …ork, t…o local reporters — …ho are not named for security reasons — told AFP they are often “sick …ith fear.”

Permanent threat

Serge Daniel, a correspondent for AFP and for Radio France InternatioM nale (RFI) in Mali’s capital Bamako, said the life of a journalist in the Sahel “is not al…ays a happy one.”

He explained that even in the relative comfort of Bamako, many live in houses surrounded by barbed …ire and are cautious …hen they are outside.

T…o French RFI journalists …ere killed in northern Mali in 2013, in an event …hich served as a …akeMup call to many reporters in the region.

But journalists likely face greatM er security risks no… than they did …hen the jihadist insurgency first emerged in northern Mali in 2012, according to Daniel.

Islamist fighters later spread to central Mali as well as neighM boring Burkina Faso and Niger, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians and displacing many hundreds of thousands more.

Local journalists, for their part, say they feel as if they are under permanent threat.

Brehima Sogoba, the editorMinM chief of Mali’s private television staM tion Renouveau TV, said some of his correspondents have stopped signM ing their reports for fear of reprisals.

‘High risk’

In Niger, …here attacks on civilians have increased this year, the head of a community radio station told AFP that journalists must think “a thousand times” before speaking.

“The job is no… very high risk,” said the journalist, …ho requestM ed anonymity. “The jihadists and other bandits listen to our broadcasts [and are] in the habit of threatening radio stations.”

Another radio journalist from Niger, …ho also declined to be named, said he …as especially afraid of being kidnapped.

The chilling effect has extended to listeners …ho call in to radio programs to debate issues, he said, adding that his station has no… mostly replaced that format because fe… dares to speak on air.

Navigating the dangers of the Sahel conflict, as …ell as stayM ing on top of its mindMboggling complexity, remains a constant challenge for journalists.

Sogoba, the television editor, said journalists need to “master the maM terial” in order to succeed, and have a solid grasp of the issues at stake.

But he added: “The good journalist is the one …ho lives.”