Shock at murder of vice-president of Reporters Without Borders' partner organisation

Reporters Without Borders today expressed shock and dismay at the murder of Nasteh Dahir Farah, vice-president of its partner organisation in Somalia, The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), who was shot dead as he returned to his home in Kismayu in the south of the country. Farah, 36, who worked for several foreign media including the BBC, had received several death threats. Somali is Africa's deadliest country for journalists. Eight were killed there last year. A group of armed men fired several shots at Farah as he made his way home from work. He was taken to hospital but died ten minutes after he was admitted. His killers have not been identified. “We share the dreadful grief that has struck the family and colleagues of Nasteh Dahir Farah. The list of dead just goes on growing while the authorities take no steps to curb the violence which targets journalists”, the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “This apathy is disgraceful given the fact that the Somalia is Africa's deadliest country for journalists,” Nasteh Dahir Farah was elected vice-president of the NUSOJ in 2005. “No-one is protecting Somali journalists, who have become targets for all the armed groups”, the organisation's secretary-general, Omar Faruq Osman said. “We will not stop our work because of these criminals,” he added.