Abdulkadir Abdirisak Soofe was shot several times on 29 May as he was making his way home from work. Soofe had recently been threatened by an officer from Raskambooni, an armed group, for producing "biased" reports against the group's leader.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is horrified by an attack on broadcast journalist Abdulkadir Abdirisak Soofe, known as Jiijiile, on the evening of 29 May. Soofe was badly wounded after he was shot at close range.
Two men armed with pistols and AK-47s attacked Soofe – who worked for Royal TV and contributed to several private radio stations – on his way back from work. They shot him several times, wounding him in the mouth. The attack occurred near a meat plant in Kismayu, 500 km south of Mogadishu.
The motive behind the targeted attack was not clearly stated, but local journalists suspect that Soofe was targeted for reporting a statement made by an opposing politician who claimed to be President Jubbaland. Barre Aden Shire (Barre Hiraale) and Barre Hiraale’s political opponents are strongly suspected to be behind this attack, according to journalists and Soofe’s family.
Before the attack, security forces allied with Ahmed Madobe, another politician that claims to be the president of Jubbaland administration, telephoned Soofe to come and cover an event they were organising, but the journalist refused to go out of fear for his life, according to fellow journalists in Kismayu.
“We firmly condemn this targeted attack on Abdulkadir Abdirisak Soofe, which was clearly linked to his journalistic work in the highly sensitive political situation in Kismayu, and we hope he recovers quickly,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.
Recently, Soofe, 22, reportedly received threats from Abdinasir Seeraar – one of the officers of Raskambooni armed group – for producing “biased” reports against Ahmed Madobe, the leader of Raskambooni.
