Nairobi, June 11, 2012–A Somali radio journalist was shot by two gunmen in Mogadishu on Friday, according to news reports. Mohamed Nur Mohamed, who was hit twice in the abdomen, survived the attack, the reports said.
Mohamed, a correspondent for Radio Bar-Kulan, a U.N.-sponsored radio broadcaster with headquarters in Nairobi, was walking home in the Hamarjajab neighborhood of the capital when the gunmen attacked him and then fled the scene, local journalists told CPJ. Mohamed’s colleagues took him to a local hospital, where he is in stable condition, according to news reports. It is unclear if the attack was related to his work.
Abdirahman Hussein, the news editor of Radio Bar-Kulan, told CPJ that Mohamed is considered one of Radio Bar-Kulan’s best correspondents because he covers dangerous parts of Mogadishu where other journalists fear to go. “He’s fearless–he brings reports that you were never expecting, risking his life, going from corner to corner in Mogadishu,” he said.
No one has taken responsibility for the attack, but news accounts reported that police had detained three men and a woman on Saturday for questioning over the attack.
“We are very relieved to hear that Mohamed Nur Mohamed is recovering from the attack,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “This attack underlines the fact that Mogadishu remains a dangerous place to practice journalism despite recent improvements in security.”
Mohamed was also injured in the suicide bomb attack on the country’s National Theater in April this year. At least six journalists have been killed with impunity in Somalia this year, making it the most dangerous country in Africa to practice journalism.