A journalist with Indonesia’s SUN TV was killed on Saturday as he attempted to cover clashes between two warring villages in Tual  in Southeast Maluku, according to news reports.

Ridwan Salamun, 28, was found dead during a fight between the villages of Banda Ely and Fiditan. He had suffered fatal injuries from a spear and a cut to his head ,  local news sources reported.

Salamun, who came from the village of Banda Ely, was in the hamlet of Mangun in Fiditan village to cover the most recent in a series of clashes. The incident occurred on the morning of 21 August after a traffic dispute escalated, reports said. A Fiditan resident was reportedly injured and three houses damaged during the fight.

Salamun’s death prompted protests by journalists on the Indonesian island of Bali the next day. IPI joins Indonesian press watchdogs including the Alliance of Independent Journalists and the Maluku Media Centre in calling for a thorough police investigation into the matter.

Yesterday, National Police spokesman Inspector General Iskandar Hasan told the Jakarta Post that perpetrators had been identified, but asked for time to investigate the case.

“IPI calls for a full and thorough investigation into the killing of Ridwan Salamun,” said IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills. “This is the second death of an Indonesian journalist in a month. The Indonesian authorities must make clear that they take the killing of reporters very seriously.”

Salamun’s death follows the 30 July murder of Ardiansyah Matra’is, a Papuan reporter with Merauke TV. It is believed that Matra’is was killed in connection with his reporting on illegal logging activities.