Recent picture o Marko Agei Makor | Credit | Courtesy

A 27-year-old journalist has reportedly been killed by gunmen in Warrap State.

Marko Agei Makor Chol was shot in a road ambush while travelling to Tonj town, according to the former Information Minister of the defunct Tonj state.

William Wol Mayom said the journalist was riding a motorcycle when he got killed near his home village.

The motive of the killing of the journalist, who had been working with Peace Radio for many years, is not known.

“The leaders of Tonj have condemned the incident t in the strongest term possible,” Wol told Eye Radio on Thursday.

No suspect has been arrested for the killing of the “resilient journalist”.

Since South Sudan gained independence in 2011, at least 10 South Sudanese journalists have been killed, with seven in 2015 alone.

Despite calls from the UN and others for those responsible to be held to account, not one person has been prosecuted and no single case has been tried.

Misconceptions about journalism in the country extend beyond the authorities, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Arbitrary arrest and detention, harassment, intimidation and killing of journalists have forced many to abandon the profession or leave the country.