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Abdihareed Osman Adan
Abdihareed Osman Adan
2 of 3
Abdihareed Osman Adan
Abdihareed Osman Adan
3 of 3
Abdihareed Osman Adan
Abdihareed Osman Adan
Abdihared Osman Aden, a Somali journalist and veteran producer for the Shabelle Media Network, was shot shot several times in the upper and lower parts of his body before being rushed to Madina hospital where he died of his wounds on Friday in the capital city Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement.
Aden, a veteran TV and radio producer, was shot at 7am while on his way to work in the Wadajir district, the New York-based CPJ explained, adding that this is the fifth assassination of a Shabelle journalist in 13 months. The outspoken media group released a statement after the attack, calling Abdihared an ‘outstanding colleague’.
CPJ East Africa consultant Tom Rhodes said: “We send our deep condolences to Aden’s family and his colleagues at Shabelle Media Network. “We condemn this murder and call on Somali authorities to not only investigate, but to follow up on the investigative task force on journalist murders that was promised by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud in November.”
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif expressed shocked at the continuing trend of assassinations and harassment of journalists in Somalia.
“It is sad to note that this barbaric behavior continues to exist despite the relative peace and security that Mogadishu is currently enjoying. It is very critical that stakeholders as a matter of priority and urgency put their heads together and bring to an end this trend once and for all,” he said.
At least four journalists working for Shabelle Media were killed by unidentified gunmen in 2012, three of them near their homes, according to CPJ investigations. A total of 12 journalists were killed in Somalia in 2012, all of them targeted murders, making the country the most dangerous place in Africa for journalists, CPJ research shows.
In November, the Somali head of state said he would be setting up a task force to investigate the cases of journalist murders in the country. “The era of impunity must stop immediately,” President Mohamoud was quoted as saying.
However, the task force is yet to see the light.
Somalia ranks second-worst on CPJ’s 2012 Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered regularly and killers go free. None of the 12 Somali journalist murders last year were resolved, according to CPJ research.