UNESCO chief speaks out against killing of Somali journalists

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with upholding press freedom today condemned the recent shooting deaths of two Somali journalists.

Abdirisak Warsameh Mohamed of Radio Shabelle was reportedly gunned down last week on his way to work amid renewed fighting between Government forces and armed rebels near the Bakara Market in the capital, Mogadishu.

Intense fighting between the Government and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups erupted in several areas of Mogadishu on 8 May, uprooting over 67,000 people, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It is impossible to know whether the journalist, who took several bullets to the chest, was singled out to be killed given the intensity of the conflict and the large number of civilians hit in the crossfire, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in a news release.

Veteran reporter Nur Muse Hussein (56) was shot in April while covering clashes between the provincial authorities and the Hisb-ul-Islam movement for Voice of the Holy Quran radio station.

UNESCO said Mr. Hussein, who died this week from a gunshot wound to the leg sustained during the attack, was targeted along with three colleagues despite the fact that they were identified as journalists.

“I condemn the attacks which have taken the lives of Nur Muse Hussein and Abdirisak Warsameh Mohamed,” said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura.

“Few places are as dangerous for journalists as Somalia, which is prey to unending conflicts,” added Mr. Matsuura. He said that dedicated professionals, such as the two Somali reporters, “nevertheless continue doing their job to ensure that we are kept informed. It is our right to freedom of information that these brave journalists risk their lives to defend.”

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), four reporters have now been killed in the Horn of Africa nation since January, and two freelance journalists – Amanda Lindhout of Canada and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan – who were abducted last August near Mogadishu are still being held by their kidnappers who are demanding a ransom.