The International Federation of Journalists

(IFJ) has today strongly condemned the

killing of Ahmed Farah Ilyas , a TV

journalist who was shot dead by gunmen on Tuesday 22 October in northern

Somalia.

“We condemn in the

strongest terms the murder of Ahmed Farah Ilyas  which serves as a

reminder of the dangerous environment our Somali colleague operate in every

day, said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Director. “We

call on the new government to show its

determination to halt the violence targeting media , fueled by intolerance

against independent reporting.”

According to the National Union of Somali

Journalists (NUSOJ), an IFJ affiliate, Ahmed Farah Ilyas, 27, widely known as

Saakin, who worked as a reporter for Universal

TV, was gunned down in a targeted attack in the Las

Anod district of Sool region.

He was heading back home from work when unknown

armed men opened fire on him, killing him on the

spot. Security forces who arrived at the scene of the crime recorded that he was killed by "unidentified

gunmen".

   NUSOJ also condemned the killing in a

statement which underscored the deterioration of the journalists’ safety in

Somalia and described the lack of action on the part of the authorities as

amounting to “conspiracy” against journalists.

“We condemn the killing of Ahmed Farah Ilyas.

Journalists are being targeted for their work, and they are performing their

duties under the most trying times,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary

General. “We demand authorities to unveil

the conspiracy and expose the perpetrators of the crime.”

The IFJ backs NUSOJ’s call of drastic action after Ahmed Farah Ilyas

 became the sixteenth murder of journalist in

Somalia since the start of the year.  

“This is well past the time for words without action,”

added Baglo. “ The new government must show real commitment to tackling

violence against journalists. This case has to be immediately and thoroughly

investigated. In the meanwhile, we send our deepest condolences to the bereaved

family.”

For more information, please contact IFJ: 

+221 33 867 95 86

The IFJ represents over 600.000 journalists in

134 countries.