Somali broadcast employee shot dead outside studio

The logistics manager and driver for Radio Simba, Farah Hassan Sahal, died from bullet wounds early on Thursday evening just outside the station’s compound in the restive Bakara Market in the capital, Mogadishu, Radio Simba Director Abdullahi Ali Farah told the Committe to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Mr Hassan was helping the station move damaged radio equipment when a sniper shot him three times, Mr Farah said. Mr Hassan, 45, is survived by his wife and five children, he said.

The shots came from an area of the market controlled by African Union (AU) forces, Farah said. Local journalists suspect that the forces may have mistaken Mr Hassan for one of the insurgent gunmen in Al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab, government, and AU forces had been using buildings near the market to attack each other in a week-long offensive aiming to take control of the area, Somali journalists and wire reports said.

“CPJ calls on both sides of the conflict to use all means possible to avoid civilian casualties, including media staff,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “African Union forces must make an immediate inquiry into this tragic incident.”

Radio Simba has been off the air after shells hit the transmitter antenna of the station. They hope to start rebroadcasting from Bakara Market once the heavy shelling stops since they lack the funds to move to a safer location, said Mr Farah. Radio Simba is one of the few media groups still operating in the volatile area, local journalists said. Radio Shabelle, for instance, moved out of the area last year in an attempt to save the station from Al-Shabaab control, Abdimaalik Yusuf, chairman of Radio Shabelle, told CPJ.

(Source: Committee to Protect Journalists via Media Network Weblog)