Journos targeted in Somalia

2008-03-02 21:16

Mogadishu - Journalists in Somalia are working under the worst conditions in 17 years, with all sides of the country's conflict trying to curtail independent media by "killing, arresting and threatening" reporters, an international rights group said on Monday.

In a report titled "Somalia: Journalists Under Attack," Amnesty International said at least nine journalists have been killed in Somalia since February 2007.

"The killings, arrests and death threats targeting Somali journalists are not just another unfortunate by-product of the conflict and general insecurity in Somalia - they are a deliberate and systematic attempt by all parties to the conflict to stem the flow of information out of the country," said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme.

Death threats and arrests have forced at least 50 journalists to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, the group said.

On Sunday, Somali government soldiers raided three independent radio stations in the capital, Mogadishu, seizing equipment, forcing the stations off the air and arresting one journalist.

Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

"The situation for journalists in Somalia is the worst it has been since 1991, when the repressive Siad Barre regime was overthrown and the state's collapse began," Amnesty said.

The attacks on media freedom marked a reversal from 2005 and 2006, when new media outlets began extending news coverage and affiliation beyond clan and warlord loyalties, the report said.

- AP