Combat deaths at a high, risks shift for journalists
Murder is the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists worldwide–and this year was no exception. But the death toll in 2012 continued a recent shift in the nature of journalist fatalities worldwide. More journalists were killed in combat situations in 2012 than in any year since 1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed records.
As impunity reigns in Somalia, president takes note
In October, two gunmen shot Shabelle Media Network reporter Mohamed Mohamud as he left a mosque one evening; he died from the gunshot wounds less than one week later. Several members of the Somali armed forces who happened to be at the scene opened fire on his assailants, local journalists said, but Mohamed’s killers have…
Three Somali journalists killed in suicide bomb attack
Nairobi, September 20, 2012–Three Somali journalists were killed and at least four were injured in a suicide bomb attack in a Mogadishu café today, according to news reports and local journalists. The attack took place across the street from the National Theater, where a bomb blast in April wounded at least 10 journalists, news reports…
Syria, Somalia, Bahrain–where fathers bury their sons
The 17-year-old videographer Anas al-Tarsha regularly filmed clashes and military movements in the city of Homs in Syria, and posted the footage on YouTube. On February 24, he was killed by a mortar round while filming the bombardment of the city’s Qarabees district, according to news reports. The central city had been under attack for…
Mogadishu comic is latest Somali media death
All the radio stations wanted him, and for good reason–Abdi Jeylani Malaq was one of the most famous comedians in Mogadishu, and it was the holy month of Ramadan when the radio broadcasters hold quiz shows. Abdi had been in the business since 1989 and was in hot demand as a commentator for the competitions.…
In Somalia, journalist killed in Mogadishu
Nairobi, May 24, 2012–Assailants in Mogadishu today gunned down the host of a critical radio program, further punctuating what has already been a deadly year for the Somali press corps and for the journalist’s employer, the Shabelle Media Network. Four unidentified men fired repeatedly at Ahmed Addow Anshur at around 1:45 this afternoon while he was…
Fourth Somali journalist killed since year began
New York, April 5, 2012–Somali authorities must immediately investigate the murder of a radio journalist who worked for the country’s leading independent broadcaster and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. Mahad Salad Adan was the fourth journalist killed in Somalia since the beginning of the year.
In deadly Mogadishu blast, 10 journalists wounded
New York, April 4, 2012–At least 10 journalists were reported injured, several of them seriously, when a bomb ripped through Somalia’s newly reopened national theater in Mogadishu, local journalists told CPJ. The blast, for which the militant insurgent group Al-Shabaab took responsibility, killed several people, including two of the nation’s top sports officials, news reports…
Unknown gunmen shoot, injure Somali journalist
New York, March 26, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Sunday’s shooting of radio journalist Mohyadin Hassan Mohamed in the capital, Mogadishu, and calls on authorities to ensure his safety. Two unknown gunmen opened fire on Mohamed, the news director of Shabelle Media Network’s radio station, as he walked home from work at around 6…