freelance
June 7, 2008, in Kismayo, Somalia
Farah, 27, vice president of the National Union of Somali Journalists and a contributor to several local and international news outlets, was shot by two men in Kismayo as he walked home from an Internet café at around 7 p.m., local journalists told CPJ. Farah was rushed to a local hospital but died within minutes from blood loss, the journalist union reported.
In a follow-up report, the union said Farah had been killed by insurgents in reprisal for his work. Farah had been reporting on a conflict over distribution of tax revenue in Kismayo, Abdi Aynte, a correspondent for the BBC, told CPJ.
The slaying came a day after Farah expressed fear for his life amid escalating insecurity in Kismayo. "I do not know if I can work in this hostile environment anymore. I am so scared," Farah told an Agence France-Presse reporter one day before his murder.
The journalist is survived by his wife, who was six months pregnant at the time of the killing, and a son.
Just weeks before his death, Farah contributed a piece to CPJ's magazine, Dangerous Assignments, recounting the killing of Somali National News Agency reporter Hassan Kafi Hared.
Medium: Print, Radio
Job: Broadcast Reporter, Print Reporter
Beats Covered: Politics
Gender: Male
Local or Foreign: Local
Freelance: No
Type of Death: Murder
Suspected Source of Fire: Unknown Fire
Impunity: Yes
Taken Captive: No
Tortured: No
Threatened: No
