Minister for Africa condemns the murder of Somali journalist
Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham has condemned the killing of the Director of Somaliweyn Radio, Abukah Hassan Mohamoud.
The Foreign Office Minister said:
“The UK strongly condemns the killing of the Director of Somaliweyn Radio, Abukar Hassan Mohamoud, known as Kadaf, yesterday in Mogadishu. Sadly this shocking murder is yet another example of the ongoing intimidation of journalists in Somalia. It follows just over a month after the killing of the Director of Radio Shabelle, Hassan Osman Abdi, who was better known as Hassan Fantastic. I call for a full and urgent independent enquiry into the killing of both journalists and urge Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions to end the culture of impunity.
“I pay tribute to the vital work of independent journalists in Somalia, described by Reporters without Borders as the deadliest country in Africa for journalists. And I reiterate the call by all participants of the London Conference on Somalia, repeated in the conference communique, which emphasised that journalists in Somalia must be able to operate freely and without fear.”