BRUSSELS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission condemned the assassination of the chief editor of the Sri Lankan Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Wickrematunga, who was shot Thursday morning near Colombo and has subsequently passed away, and urged the Sri Lankan authorities to take measures to ensure safety of journalists in the country.

    "I was deeply shocked to learn about today's assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunga, the chief editor of Sri Lanka's Sunday Leader newspaper. This attack comes just two days after a privately-owned television station was attacked and set on fire and follows several incidents of harassment and threats of journalists in Sri Lanka that have occurred over recent months," said European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner in a statement.

    "Our concerns about the freedom of the media, already under severe pressure from assaults and intimidation, have been exacerbated by the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga," she said.

    Meanwhile, she called on the Sri Lankan government to put in place protection mechanisms to ensure safety of journalists in Sri Lanka.

    "I urge the Sri Lankan authorities to take all necessary steps to bring the perpetrators to justice, as there can be no impunity for these terrible crimes," she added.

    Unidentified gunmen shot and injured Wickramatunga at about 10:30 a.m. (0500 GMT) in Attidiya, a suburb area south of Colombo, and died later in hospital due to injuries.

    The incident came only two days after MTV and Sirasa TV studio complex in the Colombo suburb of Pannipitiya was destroyed by an armed gang.

    Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has ordered the police to carry out an investigation into the attack on the studio, but so far nobody has been arrested.

    Earlier, the Sirasa TV was criticized by some sections for not patriotic in covering the current military conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.