Media group dismayed over killing of young Somali journalist
Paris, 05 Mar – (ANA) – Media campaign group Reporters Without Borders has expressed dismay over the killing of Radio Galkayo journalist Ali Ahmed Abdi shot dead by three gunmen as he was returning home in the north-central city of Galkayo, becoming the third journalist to be killed in Somalia since the start of 2012.
In a statement, the press freedom organization condemned the lack of any action on the part of the local authorities and international community in response to this unacceptable spate of murders. “With three journalists already murdered since the start of the year, is 2012 going to be deadlier than 2009, when nine journalists were killed in connection with their work?” Reporters Without Borders asked. “What is the international community waiting for in order to rise to the challenge of this carnage?
“Media personnel are abandoned to their fate in Somalia. Alone, they face the enemies of information, who do not hesitate to eliminate them. There is an urgent need to protect them and to stop allowing the killers to run amok.” Abdi, 26, was shot several times on a street near the Guure Hotel in Is-Raac, a northern district of Galkayo, which is the capital of the Mudug region. The motive is not yet known. As well as working for Radio Galkayo, he wrote for the Somali Online website and was a member of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), a Reporters Without Borders partner organization. (ANA)
FA/ANA/05 March 2012---------------