Hassan Kafi Hared

Anarchic violence gripped a nation sadly accustomed to chaos and suffering as a weak federal government sought to fend off insurgencies in the south and central parts of the country. Two reporters were killed in the southern port city of Kismayo in 2008, continuing a national pattern of violence against the press that has claimed the lives of nine journalists in two years. At least 21 Somali reporters have gone into exile, according to CPJ data, although the National Union of Somali Journalists estimates that dozens more have fled their homes in fear of reprisals. The risks grew deeper still in 2008 with two kidnappings involving five journalists, three of whom were still being held for ransom in late year.

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.

CPJ mourns the death of Somali reporter

New York, January 28, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of Somali National News Agency reporter Hassan Kafi Hared today. Hared died in a landmine explosion and subsequent gunfire in Siyad Village in the southwestern port town of Kismayo.

A remote-controlled mine blew up a Medecins Sans Frontières-Holland vehicle, killing two aid workers and the driver as well as Hared, who was walking near the vehicle when the mine went off, local journalists told CPJ. Guards with the aid organization opened fire in the area after the explosion. It was not immediately clear whether Hared died from the explosion or from gunshot wounds—both bullet and mine shrapnel wounds were found in his body, according to local journalists.