Somalia’s ongoing victories against al-Shabaab militants could be undermined by overzealous officials wary of critical media, press freedom lobbyists warned on Friday.
On the day Somalia’s onslaught on Al-Shabaab gained ground after forces seized the town of Runirgoud, the extremists’ last stronghold in Middle Shabelle, government officials also cracked down on journalists reporting on the resurgence of fighters. extremists in previously occupied cities.
The city, some 240 kilometers northeast of the capital Mogadishu, added to recent victories celebrated by the Somali National Army (SNA) and collaborating local vigilantes.
And according to General Abdullahi Ali Anod, spokesman for the Somali Defense Ministry, an SNA contingent supported by local vigilantes captured Runirgoud from Al-Shabaab in a fierce battle on Thursday.
closed media house
But the morale-boosting gains were immediately tempered by reports that officials in the same federal state of Hirshabelle had cracked down on a media house, shutting it down for reporting on Al-Mexico’s recapture of some territories. Shabaab.
On Thursday, Hirshabelle police forces attacked Hiranweyn Radio Station, an independent radio station on the outskirts of Beledweyne. And according to a statement from the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), the police ordered the closure of the radio station and arrested the show’s producer Mustaf Ali Adow and newscasters Abdirahman Moallim Muse and Abdimajid Abdirahman Adan, and Kafi Osman Idow. , the editor of the station.
The order came from the governor of the Hiran region, Ali Jeyte Osman, who was acting on the orders of the Hirshabelle president, Ali Abdullahi Hussein Gudlawe.
The station reportedly angered authorities for reporting that Al-Shabaab fighters had resurfaced in some of the liberated areas in the Hiraan region, angering state president Gudlawe, who used the cabinet meeting of this week to demonstrate a liberated status, especially in the Middle Shabelle and Hiraan regions. of the federal state.
released free of charge
The four journalists were released Friday morning without charge and the station was allowed to go back on the air. But NUSOJ says the incident showed that journalists were still operating at the mercy of the authorities in Somalia, amid the battle to defeat al-Shabaab.
“Journalists are natural allies for peace and stability anywhere in the country, and reporting on a newsworthy story is not a crime that justifies such an unacceptable roundup, closure and arbitrary arrest of journalists,” the secretary said. NUSOJ General Omar Faruk Osman in a statement.
“It clearly reflects that the Hirshabelle administration carried out a targeted attack to restrict press freedom. The war against terrorists must not become a war against journalists who have the responsibility to tell the facts and allow people’s right to know, even if this information makes politicians uncomfortable.
Having seen similar actions in Galmudug state, NUSOJ warned federal member states not to copy similar oppressive actions while the campaign against Al-Shabaab continues, as this will have far-reaching and devastating effects on press freedom and subsequently , in Somalia’s transition to democracy, peace and peace. stability.
Legitimate media work
“Reporting on a newsworthy topic by any newsmaker is a legitimate media job and the decision to report rests solely with the journalist and the editorial team without interference or intimidation from authorities.”
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been encouraging civilians to take up arms and volunteer to support the Somali National Army in pushing back Al-Shabaab. And vigilantes have sprung up in states like Hirshabelle, Galmudug and the South West to join the fight.
NUSOJ said it supported the meeting call.
