afrol News, 16 May - An ambush on the convoy of a provincial Governor in Somalia claimed the lives of two journalists of the country’s privately-owned Radio Jowhar, Abshir Ali Gabra and Ahmed Hassan.

The two fallen journalists were travelling with the Governor of the central province of Middle Shabelle, Mohammed Omar Deele, when the ambush took place.

“Two journalists have once again fallen victim to the extreme volatility of Somalia’s security situation,” the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said.

“Journalists are both unwanted witnesses and easy targets for gunmen. But we refuse to accept the inevitability of these recurring tragedies. The transitional federal government must get together with Somali’s journalists and consider adopting special protective measures for the press.”

Governor Deele led a delegation from the provincial capital of Jowhar for the locality of Addale to broker peace between rival clans that have clashed over land in the past few days. The clash left at least 16 people dead.

The dead journalists were on board the first vehicle of the delegation. Their vehicle came under fire from a group of unidentified gunmen as soon as it entered the disputed territory. The attack led to the instant killing of Garba and Hassan. Six of the Governor’s bodyguards also lost their lives in the ensuing shootout.

Garba and Hassan were also correspondents of Radio Quran Karim and the Puntland-based Somalia Broadcasting Corporation (SBC).

“The tragic deaths of our two colleagues bring the number of journalists killed in Somalia since the start of the year to four,” Omar Faruk Osman, the Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), said.

“We are very worried that Somalia could become a smaller version of Iraq, with one journalist after another being killed with complete impunity.”

Osman said Gabra was a member of the NUSOJ supreme council, which functions as a sort of “parliament” for the organisation.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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