Baghdad, Jul 7, (VOI)- The Iraqi Society for Defending Journalists' Rights said on Saturday an Iraqi journalist was killed in the clashes that erupted between security forces and fighters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army in the southern Iraqi city of Samawa during the last two days.
"The society's office in Samawa was informed of the death of journalist Ali Watan who was working for Samawa local TV, with a sniper's bullet while entering the Samawa TV building on Friday afternoon," the society said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The body of Watan was received on Saturday morning, the statement added.
The society, a non-governmental organization that monitors violations against journalists in Iraq, re-appealed to the Iraqi government to take all necessary measures to protect the journalists working in the country.
Samawa was a scene of clashes between fighters loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and security forces during Thursday and Friday. A truce was worked out between the two warring parties after an official delegation arrived in Samawa coming from Baghdad.
