IPI
Tuesday, 15 February 2011‘Reporters’ Right to Cover News Must Be Respected’, Says IPI
Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf of Ahlu Sunna Waljama (ASWJ), left seated, and Sherif Hassan Adu of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, right, seated, signing the framework of an agreement that will see the ASWJ and the Somalia government form unity government and pool troops to fight insurgents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, March, 15, 2010. AP Photo/Samson Haileyesus
IPI on Tuesday condemned continued violence against the media in Somalia, where two journalists were wounded when Al Shabab militants shelled a press conference they were covering, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) reported.
Mustaf Mohamed Ali and Sadam Adam Mohamed, reporters for Voice of Democracy and Shabelle Radio, respectively, received non-lethal wounds while attempting to cover a press conference organized by a moderate, government-aligned Islamist group called Ahlu Sunna Waljama’ in Mogadishu, NUSOJ reported.
Both were rushed to the hospital with head wounds, but are now recovering well, NUSOJ said.
Somalia has recently witnessed a spate of reported attacks on journalists. On 9 February, Muhiyadin Mohamed Husni of Radio Kulmiye was hit in the right hand by a stray bullet in Mogadishu, NUSOJ spokesperson Mohammed Ibrahim confirmed to IPI by phone today.
Mustaf Mohamed Ali and Sadam Adam Mohamed, reporters for Voice of Democracy and Shabelle Radio, respectively, received non-lethal wounds while attempting to cover a press conference organized by a moderate, government-aligned Islamist group called Ahlu Sunna Waljama’ in Mogadishu, NUSOJ reported.
Both were rushed to the hospital with head wounds, but are now recovering well, NUSOJ said.
Somalia has recently witnessed a spate of reported attacks on journalists. On 9 February, Muhiyadin Mohamed Husni of Radio Kulmiye was hit in the right hand by a stray bullet in Mogadishu, NUSOJ spokesperson Mohammed Ibrahim confirmed to IPI by phone today.
Meanwhile, popular station Radio Shabelle has been allowed back on the air by the Ahlu Sunah Waljama group, which controls the central Somali town of Abudwaq. The decision came as the group released local Shabelle correspondent Abdikarim Ahmed Bulhan on Sunday, after he had spent the night in their custody.
“The situation of journalists is getting worse these days, and it depends on the situation of the country,” said Ibrahim. “Every day we have shelling in the streets of Mogadishu and attacks on journalists. We call on the warring sides to guarantee the safety and security of journalists.”
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