NAIROBI, Kenya, 11 January 2008 - International press watchdogs on Friday condemned an attempt to murder a Somali radio journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

Four gunmen opened fire at Abdikheyr Mohammed Jama, a presenter and technician with community Radio Galkayo and shot him in the mouth late Thursday in the region's Galkayo township.

Jama is currently in a stable, but critical condition. The attack's motive remains unclear.

"If nothing is done by the Puntland authorities to identify and punish those responsible for this cowardly attack, every journalist in the region will be exposed to the threat of deadly violence," Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

The International Federation for Journalists said the shooting was part of a string of incidents against Somalia journalists, which claimed at least nine lives -- eight in targetted attacks -- in 2007.

"This shooting is part of the wave of attacks against Somali journalists that has wreaked havoc on the media there for months," IFJ Africa chief Gabriel Baglo said in the statement. "Still the threats and violence against our colleagues continue."

Bloody clan conflict and power struggles that intensified after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have scuppered many bids to stabilise Somalia.

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