Somalia: Radio journalist wounded in shooting
MOGADISHU: The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has expressed its concern for the continued violence and targeting of journalists after a radio journalist was shot and wounded in the Afgoi district of the lower Shabelle region in Somalia.
Five masked assailants with pistols attacked Hassan Mohamed Abikar known as Hassan Matoor on Tuesday night, 2 November 2010, while he was on his way home in Afgoi District, 30km southwest of the capital city, an insurgent controlled area. Abikar was shot four times in the chest and hands, and left unconscious, but luckily he was confirmed alive and was rushed to Dayniile Hospital, northwest of the capital, according to his family.
Hassan Mohamed Abikar, who is a freelance radio journalist based in Afgoi, works at several radio stations in Mogadishu as a stringer. It is not yet clear why he was attacked and the insurgent group Hisbul Islam that controls the district did not comment on the reason behind the attack of the journalist.