…Libya declare maximum security alert in Tripoli***
Media freedom organisation, Reporters Without Borders, said on Tuesday that 65 media workers around the world have been killed doing their jobs in 2017.
The organisation said among the dead were 50 professional journalists, seven citizen journalists and eight other media workers.
It said the five most dangerous countries were Syria, Mexico, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Philippines.
Of those killed, the organisation said 35 died in regions where armed conflict is ongoing while 30 were killed outside of such areas.
It said 39 of those killed were targeted for their journalistic work such as reporting on political corruption or organized crime while the other 26 were killed while working due to shelling and bomb attacks, for example.
“It’s alarming that so many journalists were murdered outside of war zones,” said Katja Gloger, a board member of Reporters Without Borders.
“In far too many countries perpetrators can assume they’ll get off scot-free if they’re violent towards media professionals,” she added.
The organisation said more than 300 media workers were currently in prison, with around half of those in five countries, namely Turkey, China, Syria, Iran and Vietnam.
In the meantime, Libya on Tuesday announced a state of maximum security alert in the capital Tripoli, a security source said.
“All security agencies of the ministry of interior have been given instructions for full readiness to deal with any suspicious movements in and around Tripoli,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The source did not reveal whether the security alert is related to the recent announcement of the eastern-based army to take over the city.
However, he said the security services in the city are “ready to deal with any armed movements against Tripoli, regardless of the party behind them.”
The current security situation in the city is normal, the source added.
Milud Al-Zwai, spokesman for the eastern army’s special forces, recently said movements toward the capital are confidential.
On Sunday, the army commander Gen. Khalifa Haftar said the UN-sponsored political agreement signed by the Libyan political rivals in the Moroccan city of Skhirat in 2015 is “expired.”
“As of Dec. 17, the so-called political agreement expires.
“Therefore, all bodies resulted from this agreement automatically lost their legitimacy, which is questioned since day one,” Haftar said in a televised speech.
Meanwhile, Ghassan Salame, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, urged Libyan parties to “heed their voices and refrain from any actions that could undermine the political process.”
Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
The country is plagued with insecurity and chaos
Additional report from Premium
