Five masked assailants with pistols attacked journalist Hassan Mohamed Abikar while he was on his way home in the Afgoi district.
(NUSOJ/IFEX) – The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) expresses grave concern over the continued violence and targeting of journalists after a radio journalist was shot and wounded in the Afgoi district of the lower Shabelle region.
Five masked assailants with pistols attacked Hassan Mohamed Abikar, known as Hassan Matoor, on the night of 2 November 2010, while he was on his way home in the Afgoi district, an insurgent controlled area 30km southwest of the capital city. 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.
Abikar, who is a freelance radio journalists based in Afgoi, worked with 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 on the journalist.
