SOMALIA - SIXTH JOURNALIST KILLED THIS YEAR

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001432 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KDEM PTER KPAO SO SUBJECT: SOMALIA - SIXTH JOURNALIST KILLED THIS YEAR ¶1. (U) Summary. A Somali journalist was killed on July 4, the sixth to die violently this year. Mohamed Yusuf Ninille, an employee of Radio Holy Koran, was hit by stray bullets while walking to work. He died of his injuries after lying at the scene of the shooting for nearly three hours. He left a wife and two children. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Mohamed Yusuf Ninille, a reporter for Radio Holy Koran, was killed by stray bullets on July 4 near Mogadishu's Bakara Market as government and Islamic extremist forces battled nearby. Yusuf was the sixth Somali journalist killed this year. Holy Koran Director Mohamed Abdulwahab told us Yusuf was crossing a street on his way to the radio's studios when he was hit. He succumbed to his injuries at Medina Hospital after lying in the street for nearly three hours as fighting raged nearby. Yusuf had been working for Radio Holy Koran for about two years, and had been a journalist for over a decade. He left a wife and two children. ¶3. (SBU) Multiple journalist advocacy groups, including the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, and National Union of Somali Journalists issued statements condemning Ninille's death and lamenting the plight of Somalia's journalists. Post will convey a letter of condolence to the widow. RANNEBERGER