Sudan’s fragile environment for journalism has once again hit an alarming point. According to a new global report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the country witnessed the killing of nine media practitioners in 2025.
The report, titled “Record 129 Press Members Killed in 2025,” paints a disturbing picture of the dangers journalists face worldwide. It highlights the worsening situation in several war-gripped zones, particularly Sudan and Gaza. CPJ states that 129 journalists and media workers died globally in 2025, marking the highest number since the organisation began collecting data in 1992.
Conflict zones accounted for over three-quarters of these deaths, representing over 90 media practitioners. This underscores how war and political instability continue to make journalism one of the world’s most dangerous professions. While the war in Gaza accounted for the majority of fatalities globally, Sudan recorded the second-highest number of journalist killings worldwide last year. This reflects the devastating impact of the country’s ongoing civil war on media workers.
The report identifies Sudan as one of the most dangerous places for journalists in Africa. The nine journalists and media workers killed last year is an increase from six killed in 2024 and one in 2023. This death spike mirrors the escalating violence between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
One of the most shocking cases involved the execution of Taj al-Sir Ahmed Suleiman of the Sudan News Agency. Reports indicate that RSF fighters killed him alongside his brother in November 2025 in El Fasher, North Darfur. Journalists in Sudan operate under extremely dangerous conditions.
Since the civil war began, CPJ has documented widespread abuses against media workers, including killings, abductions, rape, and the seizure of journalists’ homes and media offices.
According to the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Sudan dropped to 156th position in 2025 from 149th in 2024, an evidence of the rising hostility toward the media in the country.
“Within this landscape of violence,” Reporters Without Borders says, “Sudan has emerged as the most lethal environment for journalists in Africa, signaling a broader collapse of safety for the continent’s independent voices.”
New Troubling Trend
CPJ identifies another disturbing development: the growing use of drones in attacks on journalists. In 2025, RSF-operated drones killed at least five Sudanese journalists, including three in a single strike in March. These incidents highlight how modern warfare technologies increasingly put journalists directly in the crosshairs.
The CPJ report emphasises that conflict environments now serve as the primary drivers of journalist deaths globally. Of the 129 journalists killed in 2025, at least 104 died while covering wars or violent conflicts.
In Africa, Sudan’s war illustrates how journalists find themselves caught between armed factions struggling for territorial and political control. Reporters covering frontlines, humanitarian crises, or human rights abuses often become unintended casualties or, in some cases, deliberate targets. The situation also reflects a broader global trend: armed groups use increasing violence against journalists to control information and shape narratives during conflict.
The danger extends beyond Sudan. Across parts of Africa, journalists continue to face threats ranging from physical violence and detention to harassment by security forces and armed militias. However, authorities barely investigate or prosecute any of these cases.
The CPJ documented 47 targeted killings of journalists around the world in 2025, representing the highest number of deliberate murders of media workers in the past decade. Yet, almost none of these cases have led to transparent investigations or prosecutions.
In Nigeria, the Media Rights Agenda recorded a total of 86 incidents of attacks on press freedom across the country in 2025. However, perpetrators committed these acts with complete impunity, as law enforcement agencies failed to investigate or prosecute a single case.
“The deliberate targeting and killing of a journalist by any military, who are required to protect civilians under international law, constitutes a war crime,” the CPJ report reads. “CPJ has called on international authorities to ensure that all cases of targeted killings of the press are independently and impartially investigated as war crimes.”
Shereefdeen Ahmad is a staff writer of The Liberalist and an award-winning journalist who covers human rights, health, sports, and economic development.
Article first appeared on The Liberalist.
Image by Jeff Kingma via Unsplash.