The Committee to Protect Journalists notes a rise in threats to press freedom in Africa

The Committee to Protect Journalists notes a rise in threats to press freedom in Africa

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international press freedom organization, warns of mounting assaults on journalists across Africa, from Sudan’s deadly RSF offensive to raids on media outlets in Senegal.

Amid relentless violence and atrocities by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have placed civilians in grave danger, journalists face a double threat: struggling to survive while being directly targeted for their reporting.

After besieging El Fasher for more than two years, the militia seized control of the city in Sudan’s North Darfur region over the weekend. Since the city’s fall, the RSF has reportedly killed at least 2,000 people in the past two days.

In a statement released Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was “deeply alarmed by the unprecedented wave of violence and impunity” facing journalists and civilians in El Fasher.

Since the RSF’s takeover, 11 journalists have gone missing in the city. According to CPJ, three of them have managed to flee and their whereabouts have been confirmed, while the others remain unreachable amid a total communications blackout across North Darfur.

“The RSF’s claims that it is solely targeting ‘terrorists’ and not civilians replicate a familiar playbook: first denial of civilian harm, then shifting of blame, and then active suppression of journalists attempting to document the truth,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director.

Among the missing journalists is Muammar Ibrahim, who had been documenting the war in El Fasher for the past two years. Ibrahim was abducted by the RSF on Oct. 26, when the group seized control of the city. His detention was confirmed in a video circulated online the same day, in which he appeared surrounded by RSF members and stated that he was detained while attempting to leave the city.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Sudanese Union of Journalists (SUJ) have called for Ibrahim’s immediate and unconditional release.

“We deplore the unlawful arrest of Muammar Ibrahim, who has committed no crime and is being targeted solely for documenting the ongoing war,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger. “The RSF has consistently attacked journalists and media workers in an attempt to silence them, and must be held accountable for its brutal actions.”

In its statement, CPJ added: “The world can no longer afford to wait to act in defense of the public’s right to know and for the safety of journalists in El Fasher. The RSF’s abductions of journalists, publicized killings of civilians, and enforced information blackouts constitute a direct assault on press freedom and human dignity.”

The group also sounded the alarm over fresh attacks on journalists elsewhere in Africa. In Senegal, authorities raided two broadcasters — 7TV and RFM — on Oct. 28–29, arresting five journalists. Three from RFM were released the same day, but as of Oct. 29, Maimouna Ndour Faye, owner of 7TV, and Bamba Touré, a studio operator, remained in custody.

In a statement late Wednesday, CPJ urged Senegalese authorities to immediately free the two detained journalists. Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s representative for Francophone Africa, called the crackdown on the broadcasters “a direct attack on press freedom and the public’s right to be informed.”

According to CPJ, the raids followed the channels’ broadcasts of interviews with a politician wanted by authorities. The signals of 7TV and TFM — RFM’s parent television channel — were later cut, though their content remained accessible online and through the private distributor Canal Plus.