March 25, 2013
Somali gunmen killed a female radio journalist in Mogadishu, the
latest in a string of reporters murdered in the war-ravaged capital,
colleagues and witnesses said Monday.Two men shot dead Rahmo Abdukadir, who worked for the private Radio Abduwaq station, late Sunday.
"One of our female staff members was shot and killed in Mogadishu," said radio station director Abdikarin Ahmed.
"We don't know why she was killed but we are in shock," he added.
Witnesses said men approached the reporter before firing repeatedly and then running away.
"Two men armed with pistols shot the woman... they fired their guns five times before fleeing," said witness Abdi Moalin Shire.
"There
was another girl who accompanied the victim but the gunmen did not
target her, she ran away screaming for help," said Issa Mohamed, another
witness.
At least 18 media workers were killed in 2012 -- double
the worst year on record and second only to war-torn Syria -- but no one
has been charged with the killings.
Abdukadir is the third journalist to be killed this year.
A
journalist for Mogadishu's Radio Shabelle was shot dead in January,
while another journalist was killed when he was caught up in a suicide
bombing in the capital earlier this month.
Somalia's journalists
have suffered a string of attacks, including assassinations or bomb
blasts often blamed on Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.
Other murders are also believed to be linked to struggles within the multiple factions in power.
Last
month Somalia's government offered a $50,000 (37,000 euro) reward for
information leading to the "successful conviction of a journalist
killer".
Somalia has been ravaged by conflict since 1991, but a new UN-backed government took power last year.
Many
have said the new government offers the most serious hope for stability
since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre more than two decades
ago.