VIENNA - A total of 119 journalists have been killed while on assignment so far this year, the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) said on Thursday.

This is the highest death toll since 1997 when the IPI started keeping track. In Syria alone, 36 journalists were killed this year.

The press watchdog said it had observed an "alarming trend" of journalists increasingly being targeted, often in order to "prevent information disclosure."

After Syria, Somalia is also dangerous for journalists, the IPI said, with 16 deaths in 2012, followed by Mexico, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

A two-day conference on Thursday and Friday attended by United Nations organizations as well as NGOs will deal with the subject of journalist safety and how to make their working environment more secure.