Somalia / Africa

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…

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…

Veteran Somali radio journalist Hassan Mohamed, 45, died early yesterday morning in Eastleigh, a Nairobi suburb. He had fled Mogadishu in 2010, having been threatened, kidnapped, and shot twice. One of hundreds of Somali refugees in Kenya, many of them journalists, Hassan struggled to support himself and survive worsening diabetes-related ailments, despite relentless support from…

New York, March 5, 2012–Authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia shut down an independent radio broadcaster and arrested the station’s director over coverage of fighting between the government and Al-Shabaab militants, local journalists said.Around 10:20 p.m. Saturday, armed police arriving in two vehicles raided Codka Nabadda (Voice of Peace) in the port city of…

New York, March 5, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of a former Somali journalist who was shot on Sunday in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. The victim, Ali Ahmed Abdi, had recently resigned as a manager for a news outlet that has come under attack by Al-Shabaab insurgents.

New York, February 28, 2012–Unidentified gunmen today assassinated a veteran journalist who had been trying to relaunch a radio station that extremist group Al-Shabaab had shut down and looted in 2010, local journalists said.

New York, February 28, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns last week’s arrest and brutal assault of Mohamed Abdirahman, a journalist in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland. 

The danger of covering violent street protests has become a significant risk for journalists, alongside combat and targeted killings. Sexual assault, organized crime, and digital vulnerability are also hazards. The security industry is struggling to keep up. By Frank Smyth