Second Somali Journalist Killed In Mogadishu Within 24 Hours

[News_Editor]

Second Somali journalist killed in Mogadishu within 24 hours < br />

2012-08-14 07:45:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BNO NEWS) -- A journalist who had just returned from exile was shot dead in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Sunday evening while trying to take pictures of a car accident, just hours after another well-known journalist was murdered in the city, officials said on Monday.

Mohamud Ali Keyre, who was also known as Buneyste, was killed after being hit by stray bullets while taking pictures of a car accident near a sports stadium in the Yaqshid district of Mogadishu. He was reportedly shot by government soldiers who opened fire at each other for unknown reasons.

"I am lost for words. It is a bad day for the Somalia media, because we lost two great friends," said Somali Exiled Journalists Association (SEJASS) chairman Mohamed Osman Hussein. "Our colleague in Mogadishu have just returned from the funeral of Yusuf Ali Osman [..]. All we can say is our thoughts, love, respect and prayers are with him and his family."

Keyre, 23, worked for Voice of Democracy Radio until he fled to Kenya after receiving death threats. He had recently returned to Mogadishu after deciding that the security situation in the Somali capital had improved. He was working as a freelancer for Horyaalmedia.com and several other websites when he was murdered on Sunday.

The death came just hours after Yusuf Ali Osman, who was better known as Yusuf-Farey, was killed when unidentified men wearing high school uniforms shot him with pistols in the Dharkenley District of Mogadishu. Osman, who was a past director of Radio Mogadishu and currently worked as Media Relations Director for Somalia's Information Ministry, was buried several hours later.

Keyre is the ninth journalist to be killed in the line of duty in the African country so far this year, making Somalia the second-most dangerous place in the world for journalists. "It is simply unacceptable that over the course of the year justice was not served for any of the victims of these crimes," said Augustine Mahiga, the United Nations (UN) Special Representative for Somalia, after Osman's death.

Mahiga added: "This culture of impunity must end. We must not allow the fundamental freedoms that a free press represents to be compromised by those willing to use violence to serve their personal agendas. This is a decisive time in the political process and the work of media needs to be protected so that the Somali people are fully informed."

Both the UN and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) strongly condemned the killings and have urged action from Somali authorities. "The Somali authorities must institute investigations into these killings with a view to bringing the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice," said Ambassador Boubacar Diarra, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia.

Late last month, famed Somali comedian and media worker Abdi Jeylani Marshale was shot dead at his home in Mogadishu. It remains unknown who was responsible for the killing, but Marshale was well-known for making fun of the Somali militant group al-Shabab. The group had earlier threatened to kill him, forcing him to go into hiding in neighboring Somaliland for several days.

Al-Shabab is the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. Despite efforts from the Somali and Ethiopian governments, the group has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia.

Somalia has been without an effective government since Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown two decades ago.

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