Gunmen shot dead a journalist late on Sunday in Bamenda, a city in Cameroon's troubled northwest region, the local journalists' union said, in at least the third killing of a media worker in the country this year.

Anye Nde Nsoh, the west and northwest region bureau chief for weekly newspaper the Advocate, was in a pub in Bamenda's Ntarikon neighborhood when unidentified assailants opened fire on him, said colleague Melanie Ndefru, who was close to the scene of the attack.

Earlier this year, a radio presenter and a journalist were killed in two separate attacks in or near the capital Yaounde, prompting the United Nations to express concern about the media environment.

The Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) confirmed Nsoh's death and called for an investigation.

“This latest attack on a journalist is one too many. The long-drawn conflict in the northwest and southwest regions has pitched journalists into grave danger,” said CAMASEJ President Jude Viban.

A spokesperson for the regional authorities said they were not aware of the attack. There has been no claim of responsibility so far.

Nsoh's death came amid a conflict between Cameroonian authorities and some separatist factions in English-speaking regions that turned violent in 2017.

Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting between armed separatists and government troops, with atrocities committed on both sides.

Nsoh's employer said he had just finished working on the Monday edition of the newspaper in which he had a front-page story and two others.

“It was a shock to hear about his demise,” said Tarhyang Enowbikah Tabe, publisher of the Advocate. (VOA)