Somali Journalists Under Siege

Journalists in Somalia, one of the world’s worst places to be a media worker, face relentless harassment and intimidation from local state and non-state actors. Campaign groups and media watchdogs have expressed concerns about the state of press freedom in the conflict-wracked nation.

Somalia continues to be one of the most dangerous countries in Africa for media personnel, with three more reporters killed last year and 50 in the past decade.

So far this year, one journalist has been killed: Abdiweli Ali Hassan, a freelance reporter who worked with London-based Universal TV and Mogadishu-based Radio Kulmiye. Hassan, 25, was shot dead near his home in the town of Afgoye on 16 February, according to news reports. A month before his death, fighters from the al-Shabaab group entered the journalist’s home “but luckily he was not at home”, Universal TV editor Abdullahi Ahmed Nur told the US-based Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ).

The federal government of Somalia has been accused of stepping up its attacks on journalists to silence any media outlet or reporter who does not toe its line. Journalists and media houses in the capital, Mogadishu, accused the government of carrying out alleged sustained attacks on press freedom in the country, with reporters having little or no recourse.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the authorities “have been stepping up their intimidation of journalists”, according to Amnesty International. At least eight journalists have been killed since President Farmajo came to power in 2017, Five others died since then in Al-Shabaab attacks while two were killed by unidentified attackers, and one was shot dead by a police officer.

Somali journalists are under siege. From barely surviving explosive-wired cars to being shot, beaten up and arbitrarily arrested, journalists are working in horrifying conditions.