Sanaa, Mar 24 (IANS): A photojournalist was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in Yemen's southwestern province of Taiz, a police officer said.

The officer told Xinhua news agency on Wednesday that "the body of Fawaz Al-Wafi, an independent photojournalist, was found inside his car in Wadi Al-Qadi area, and he was stabbed several times".

The official said that the local authorities are conducting investigations into the incident, and an official statement will be issued later.

The motive behind the killing is yet to be determined, and no one has claimed responsibility so far.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a total of 22 journalists have been killed in the war-torn nation from 1992 to 2022.

Yemen ranked 169 in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

There are very few foreign reporters on the ground, while Yemeni journalists are trapped in the middle of all these forces, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Around 20 are currently held by the Houthi militia or Al Qaeda, most of them since 2015, it claims.

According to the RSF, online access to media outlets has been blocked ever since the Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

In all parts of the country, citizen-journalists are monitored and can be arrested for a single social media post.