SYRIA IS NOW the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, a report which marks World Press Freedom Day has revealed.

The Amnesty International report, entitled “Shooting The Messenger”, shows that journalists in the war-stricken country have been targeted by all sides since the conflict began in 2011, with 36 having been killed in targeted attacks.

The executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, Colm O’Gorman, said that while both sides were to blame, the scale of abuse by government forces “remains much higher”.

He continued:

For two years the international community has done nothing to ensure those responsible for atrocities in Syria are brought to justice.

How much more evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity does the UN Security Council need to see before it refers the situation in Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court?

Also marking today was the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). Its president, Barry McCall, said that “it is our duty to ensure that each one of those journalists is remembered.”

Here in Ireland we know the pain felt by the murders of Martin O’Hagan and Veronica Guerin, both NUJ members committed to the highest principles of journalism.

Read: Ireland ranks 15th on latest global Press Freedom Index >