Somali Journalist Ahmed Mohamed Shukur Killed While Covering Security Operation
Somali National TV journalist Ahmed Mohamed Shukur was killed in a bomb attack while covering a security operation in Basra on September 30, 2022. (Screenshot: SNTV/YouTube)
Nairobi, October 3, 2022 — In response to reports that Somali National TV journalist Ahmed Mohamed Shukur was killed in a bomb attack on Friday, September 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:
“Ahmed Mohamed Shukur joins a long list of Somali journalists who have lost their lives while reporting the news, but his case must not become the latest example of a lack of accountability for attacks on the Somali press,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative. “Somalia’s security and judicial organs must do everything possible to ensure a credible investigation into Ahmed Mohamed Shukur’s killing and to deliver justice through a transparent and fair process.”
Ahmed, 26, a camera operator with state-owned Somali National TV (SNTV), was killed in a bomb attack while covering a security operation against Somali militant group al-Shabab in the town of Basra, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the capital Mogadishu, according to SNTV social media posts and a statement by the Somali Journalists Syndicate, a local press rights group. Several other people were killed in the attack, including Mogadishu police chief Farhan Mohamud Adan and other security officials, according to those sources and a report by U.S Congress-funded Voice of America.
SJS reported that an improvised explosive device killed Ahmed and the security officials and that the journalist was embedded with the security forces; the Voice of America report said it was a landmine, targeting Farhan. CPJ was unable to verify the type of device used.