Radio Voice of Peace journalist Hassan Mohamed, better known as Anteno, was shot by unidentified gunmen in the coastal town of Bosasso.
(NUSOJ/IFEX) – On 22 September 2011, journalist Hassan Mohamed, better known as Anteno, was critically injured by unknown gunmen armed with pistols in the coastal town of Bosasso, in the semi autonomous region of Puntland, in northern Somalia.
Anteno, who works for the privately-owned Radio Voice of Peace, was attacked in front of the radio station in Bosasso, according to journalists who work for the station. Witnesses said two youths armed with pistols shot him several times in the chest and then fled the scene.
Doctors say Anteno was seriously injured in the attack and is being treated in Bosasso’s main hospital. The National Union of Somalia Journalists (NUSOJ) describes this attack as barbaric and cruel, aimed at silencing the growing independent media in Somalia in general, and in Puntland in particular.
“This violent attack comes on the heels of many weeks of increasingly aggressive reprisals against independent and critical journalists for their journalistic work in Puntland,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.
On 14 September, armed militias wounded female journalist Horriyo Abdulkadir of Radio Galkayo in Galkayo.
Anteno is both a reporter and presenter for Radio Voice of Peace.
