BRUSSELS, Dec 31: A heavy death toll in war zones such as Syria and Somalia made 2012 one of the bloodiest years for journalists, with 121 killed, an international journalists’ group said on Monday.

The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said the figure was up from 107 journalists and other media workers killed in targeted attacks, bomb blasts and cross-fire incidents in 2011.

The heavy casualties were the result of a “systematic failure by governments and the United Nations to fulfil their international obligations to protect and enforce journalists' basic right to life”, the group said.

“The death toll for 2012 is another indictment of governments which pay lip service to the protection of journalists but have consistently failed to stop their slaughter,” Jim Boumelha, IFJ president, said in a statement.

Syria, where more than 45,000 people are estimated to have been killed in a 21-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, topped the list of the most dangerous countries for media in 2012, with 35 journalists or other media workers killed.

The IFJ said 18 journalists had been killed in 2012 in Somalia, where African peacekeepers are battling Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels, turned the country into a media killing field. —Reuters