Press freedom organisations have strongly condemned the murder in Baidoa of presenter Ali Mohammed Omar of Radio Warsan on February 16, and deplored the “deteriorating security situation†in Somalia which it said was taking a toll on journalists. Omar was shot in the head on his way home.
“This is the third year running that a journalist has been killed for trying to do his job in one of the world’s most chaotic countries,†Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said, “and the killers have never been punished.†RSF urged Somalia’s transitional government to make every effort to ensure that those who killed Omar were brought to justice.
Omar, 25, was a presenter and technician at Radio Warsan, one the region’s most independent stations. He was also an active member of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), which is a partner organisation of RSF.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) backed Somali journalists calling for a full investigation into the killing of Omar. “This is a shocking murder and we demand that the government gives top priority to bringing the killers to justice,†said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. IFJ feels he was the victim of a targeted attack.
According to NUSOJ, Omar was attacked by three unidentified assailants on his way to his home. The attackers ordered him to stop and then shot him dead as he tried to flee.
Omar Faruk Osman, secretary general of NUSOJ said: "This shocking attack is absolutely intolerable, and we ask the transitional federal government to make a prompt investigation and find those responsible.â€
IFJ is also backing calls for more security for journalists in the southern region of the country where there have been journalists murdered over the past three years. "There is a pattern of attacks on the press and violence against journalists which requires urgent official action,†said White.
Ali Mohammed Omar was a member of the south-western branch of the union and was among the delegates representing the region at the union’s general assembly in Baidoa last year. The union praised his courage and said his work had been an inspiration to the Somali media community.
Radio Warsan, a privately-owned radio station based in Baidoa, was closed several times in the past and resumed operations on February 10, 2007. The last time the radio was closed was on January 8. The recent resumption of its operations came out after the management of the radio and the chief of the national security agency of the transitional government in Bay region agreed to its commencing broadcasting again.
