The International Federation of the Journalists (IFJ) today strongly condemned the murders of Somali journalist Mohamed Amin Adan Abdulle, a reporter with Radio Shabelle and Hassan Zubeyr Haji Hassan, a cameraman working with Al-Arabia TV who were killed this morning in a bomb attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

“We condemn this senseless attack which caused considerable loss of life, including our colleagues’,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “It is a stark reminder of the dangers Somali media are exposed to in their daily work. We demand an urgent reaction from the international community to ensure their protection.”

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), an IFJ affiliate, there was a powerful bomb explosion today at the Shamo Hotel in Mogadishu during a graduation ceremony organized by Banadir University. More people are believed to have died in the blast, including nine students and three ministers of the Transitional Federal Government. NUSOJ says Mohamed Amin Adan Abdulle and Hassan Zubeyr Haji Hassan died on the spot and four other journalists were wounded.

“This is a shocking murder. The killings of Mohamed Amin and Hassan Zubeyr add to the deaths of six journalists who died earlier this year. Any circumstance in which members of media are murdered in cold blood is an attack on the nation, and the killers and masterminds of these heinous acts must be condemned,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.

The IFJ renews its call for an international and urgent action to stop the massacre of the Somali civilian and journalists in particular, in order to restore freedom of expression and press freedom which have completely disappeared in this country.

For more information contact the IFJ at   +221 33 867 95 87   

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide