The International Press Institute (IPI) on Friday reiterated its calls for Somali authorities to ensure that journalist murders are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted after the sixth journalist this year was reportedly murdered in Mogadishu.

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Radio Shabelle journalist Ahmed Addow Anshur, 25, was shot by armed men in the Dharkenley district of Mogadishu on the afternoon of Thursday, May 24.  Bullets hit him in the chest and head, killing him instantly, NUSOJ reported. The motive for the killing is unknown.

Anshur is the second journalist from Radio Shabelle to be killed this year. In January, director Hassan Osman Abdi was killed after receiving a number of death threats for his coverage of corruption, NUSOJ said.

All six journalists killed so far in 2012 were on their way home or near their homes when they were fired on by unknown men, according to the IPI DeathWatch. The motive behind their killings is unclear and, as Burhaan Daahir, President of the Supreme Council of NUSOJ explained, the complexities of clan rivalries and the ongoing struggle between the African Union and United Nations-backed transitional government and Islamist militant groups makes it difficult for such cases to be resolved.

“There are killings on a daily basis, of civilians and officials as well as journalists, and none of the perpetrators were brought to justice,” Daahir said. “The only possible investigator is the government and they are not looking at cases like this.”  He noted that, in a meeting over the recent murders, media executives had decided to ask the authorities to present the results of any investigations.

They also discussed ways in which news media could better protect their journalists, as well as the need for improved journalistic practices. Nonetheless, Daahir noted: “Whether a journalist is impartial or not, killing is not an answer.”

IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie said: “We send our condolences to the family and colleagues of Ahmed Addow Anshur. While we recognise the difficult circumstances facing Somalia, we call on the Transitional Federal Government and the authorities in Puntland to do everything in their power to investigate the recent wave of killings, and to bring the perpetrators of all killings of journalists to justice.”