Somali TV Reporter Killed by Landmine While Covering Counter-Terrorist Operation
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(Reporters Without Borders) A reporter for Somali National Television (SNTV), Ahmed Mohamed Shukur was the first Somali journalist to be killed in the course of their work this year. He was killed instantly on 30 September by a landmine explosion in Balcad, about 30 km northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region.
Aged 20, he was covering a counter-terrorism operation by the Somali armed forces aimed at dislodging Al-Shabaab militants from the area. An Islamist armed group affiliated to Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab has been responsible for many suicide-bombings and attacks on civilians and military in Somalia. A regional police commander was killed in the same incident.