PARIS, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A new string of killings of journalists in Iraq has underlined the urgent need for the Iraqi government to better protect the national press, a media watchdog says.
Just weeks after the U.N. Security Council's adoption of Resolution 1738 on the protection of journalists in armed conflicts, six media employees were killed in recent days.
Four employees of the government daily al-Sabah died between Jan. 12-16, two of whom were kidnapped from the newspaper's Baghdad offices and later found with their throats slit. Their names have not been revealed.
Two additional Iraqi journalists were shot dead in separate incidents.
"How many more deaths will we have to count before the Iraqi authorities decide to put an end to impunity?" RWB asked. "Although many others fall victim to the daily violence ravaging Iraq, journalists are for the most part deliberately targeted because of what they do. Those responsible must be found and punished, or else these killings will continue."
A total of 146 journalists and media assistants have been killed since a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003.
Meanwhile, Akil Adnan Majid, an al-Sabah accountant, was kidnapped Jan. 9 outside the newspaper's premises. No contact has yet been established with his abductors.
A total of six journalists and media assistants are currently being held hostage in Iraq.
