“We are extremely alarmed by the continuing assault on Somalia’s media workers and journalists by Al-Shabaab and other elements,” Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, told reporters in Geneva.
“That’s the second highest toll in the world after Syria,” he said, calling on Somalia’s government “to take urgent steps to protect journalists and other media workers and to end the complete impunity that has been enjoyed by their killers”.
“The role of the media is crucial as Somalia tries to get back on its feet, and the continued slaughter of the country’s journalists risks stifling the media’s ability to contribute to an improvement in law and order and good governance,” he added.
Press rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called 2012 the “deadliest year” on record for Somalia, surpassing 2009 when nine died.
Several killings are blamed on the Shabaab insurgents, but other murders are also believed to be linked to struggles within the multiple factions in power.
After years of war, Mogadishu has been coming back to life since Shabaab fighters left frontline positions in the capital last year, but the insurgents have instead switched to guerrilla attacks.
While the hardline Shabaab gunmen have now lost control of a string of towns in recent months, they still control large areas of rural southern and central Somalia.
At the same time, Somalia’s newly elected president and parliament – set up in September in a UN-backed process – are struggling to rebuild stability after more than two decades of anarchy and war.
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