Kurdistan TV photojournalist stabbed to death in southern Kirkuk
Representational photo.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) A Kurdish photojournalist was stabbed to death by unknown attackers in Kirkuk province, a security source was quoted saying on Tuesday.
Baghdad Today website quoted the source saying that Arkan Sharif, from Kurdistan TV, was killed in Haftaghar, Daqouq, south of Kirkuk. It said the channel was affiliated with Kurdistan Region’s ruling party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is headed by outgoing President Masoud Barzani.
The website quoted Sharif’s family saying five attackers stabbed him to death.
Conflicts in Iraq have killed 465 Iraqi journalists in 14 years, the head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate was quoted saying in September.
Seven reporters were killed in Iraq in 2016, out of a total of 57 who were killed in conflict areas across the world, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s 2016 report. In the organization’s press freedom index for 2017, Iraq came in the 158th place globally and 13th among Arab countries.
Sharif’s death comes after Kirkuk had been ravaged by turmoil as Iraqi federal forces took over the province from Kurdish Peshmerga troops earlier this month in response to an independence referendum the semi-autonomous region held in September. It also comes hours after Kurdish President Masoud Barzani announced he would not maintain his post beyond November 1st.