A Somali journalist, who was a news anchor at the TV and radio station, was gunned down on May 24 in the capital city of Mogadishu.
Ahmed Addow Anshur is the sixth journalist killed this year so far, making Somalia a deadly place for reporters and journalists.
According to National Union for Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Anshur , who worked for Shabelle Media Network, was attacked by four armed men on motorcycles who shot him in a market during midday. The motive for the murder is still unknown.
Shabelle Media Network condemns the killings of its journalists and the alarming degree of impunity for the culprits. Shabelle calls upon the respective institutions to take their responsibility in bringing to justice those behind these assassinations.
"It is always the same pattern: Our journalists are being targeted when they are walking home from work," Mohamed Amin, the deputy director of the Shabelle Media Network, told Committee to Protect Journalists. "We are really scared but committed to continuing our editorial independence."
According to local journalists, Somali soldiers were present in the vicinity of the shooting area but did not take any action.
In a statement released by NUSOJ, the organisation's Secretary General, Mohammed Ibrahim, said it's often difficult to tell who is actually be behind the attacks.
Anshur hosted a popular programme called “Qubanaha Wararka,” a daily, hour-long news and analysis broadcast, and had a reputation for being outspoken when conducting interviews on Somalia’s political situation.
Other Somali journalists killed
He had received death threats after compiling reports on government corruption together with Hassan Osman Abdi, another Shabelle journalist who was gunned down on January 28.
On World Press Freedom Day, journalist Farhan Jeemis Abdulle, was shot as he headed home shortly after leaving the radio station.
CPJ reports that 41 journalists have been killed since 1992. Somalia’s internal war between the government and insurgent groups like Al Shabab, Al Qaeda- allied terrorist organization, has worsened the situation.
