Somali security forces surrounded the independent Shabelle Radio station in Mogadishu today after firing shots on the building, an AFP correspondent reported. The incident came three days after police stormed the radio station, accusing one of its journalists of hurling a grenade at a police patrol and detaining 14 members of staff.
“We are trapped inside the building because the government forces have sealed off the streets around the station. They are opening heavy fire on the building,” a Shabelle journalist told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. ”Everybody is lying on the floor. We cannot keep our heads up because of gunfire. They are asking us to open the gates and nobody is willing to do that. Most of the windows are shattered,” he added.
At least seven journalists have been killed in Somalia this year. Media watchdogs have urged all sides to ensure better protection for journalists, several of whom have also been wounded or robbed. Somalia is the second deadliest country in the world for journalists in 2007, after Iraq, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The troubled Horn of Africa country has had no central authority since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991 and has defied numerous attempts to restore stability
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)