Three radio
stations raided, Shabelle director detained
Government soldiers raided
three radio stations in Somalia on Sunday and detained
the director of one of the stations, according to
journalists who witnessed the events.
The raids occurred after heavy fighting and looting over
the weekend in the central area of the capital,
Mogadishu.
Journalists from Horn
Afrik, Radio Shabelle, and Radio Simba told CPJ that
government troops took key radio equipment, including
computers, mixers, and microphones in order to shutter
them.
All three stations were off the air on Sunday but Radio
Shabelle and Horn Afrik managed to renew broadcasting
today.
On Sunday, government
forces raided the central Howl-Wadaag district,
including Bakara market, a day after at least 14 people
were killed and 30 wounded in heavy fighting between
soldiers and insurgents.
Local journalists suspect key equipment was confiscated
from the three radio stations in order to censor
reporting of Sunday’s mass looting.
The minister of
information, Ahmed Abdisalam, said the central
government did not order the raids on the stations and
that the prime minister called an emergency meeting on
Sunday to investigate the incident, according to local
journalists and a VOA report.
“Security forces must be
reined in by the Somali government so they do not carry
out their own personal agendas against journalists,”
said CPJ’s executive director, Joel Simon.
“We call on the authorities to ensure all the equipment
is returned undamaged to the three radio stations.”
An estimated 20 soldiers
in two armored vehicles raided Radio Simba, looting
equipment and beating reporter Abdiaziz Hussein Hassan,
local journalists said.
Soldiers then proceeded to knock down the doors of Radio
Shabelle, taking radio equipment and arresting Director
Muktar Mohamed Hirabe. Hirabe was released the same day.
The soldiers also
confiscated radio equipment at Horn Afrik and ordered
the station to be closed, Chairman Saeed Tahlil told CPJ.
J
ournalists at Radio Shabelle and Radio Simba said they
were told they would be able to collect their
confiscated equipment Tuesday, while Horn Afrik already
has its equipment back.
Journalists told CPJ that
they suspect the order came independently from a top
commander and relative of President Abdullahi Yusuf.
Journalists at two of the stations recognized
individuals who took part in the raids as security
personnel based at the presidential palace.
The violence in Somalia
has taken a heavy toll on journalists: Seven
Somali journalists were killed because of their
work in 2007—the
world’s second-highest count behind Iraq.
More than 50 others have fled Mogadishu, according to
CPJ research.
CPJ is a New
York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that
works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more
information, visit
www.cpj.org
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