Abdifatah Gedi survived the assassination attempt after a group of armed men shot him several times at the entrance to Radio Daljir headquarters in Garowe.
(NUSOJ/IFEX) – 2 August 2012 – A radio journalist for a broadcast media house in Garowe, capital of Puntland region, escaped assassination Thursday evening when armed men attacked him.
Abdifatah Gedi, editor-in-chief of Radio Daljir and the director its Galkayo branch, survived the assassination attempt after a group of men armed with pistols shot him several times at the entrance to Radio Daljir headquarters in Garowe. Some of the bullets reportedly went through Gedi’s shirt but fortunately he escaped uninjured.
Puntland security services who arrived at the scene immediately after the incident confirmed details of the shooting. Police pursued the armed assailants but they absconded.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is deeply concerned that 2012 has seen increased violent attacks, including deadly violence, on media professionals. NUSOJ terms this attack an ‘assassination bid’.
“The shooting of Abdifatah Gedi is the latest in a long line of deadly attacks and threats on journalists this year,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.
“We call upon Puntland authorities to defend media freedom by seeing that all attacks on journalists are investigated and the perpetrators held accountable for their crimes,” said Abdirisak Omar Ismail, NUSOJ Supreme Council President.
The attempt on the life of Abdifatah Gedi comes one day after Abdi Jeylani Malaq, known as Marshaale, who worked for Universal TV as a television actor and producer, was murdered in Mogadishu.
