07 June 2008
Nasteh Dahir Farah
Shooting
Nasteh Dahir, 36, a correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Somali service and the US news agency Associated Press, died in hospital after he was shot in Kismayo, about 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu, they said.
"Unknown assailants shot and seriously wounded him as he was going to his house," Mohamed Aden, a family member, told AFP. "Dahir later died of his injuries and may our good Lord bless him," he added. The BBC and several other colleagues confirmed the death of Farah, who was the vice president of Somali-based press rights watchdog, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). "We can confirm that Nafteh Dahir Farah was killed by a gunman. He worked as a freelancer for the BBC as well as other agencies. We are shocked by what has happened and are trying to ascertain further information," said a BBC spokesman in London. "We are speaking to Nafteh Dahir Sarah's family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time." Earlier, Sarah Ali, also a journalist in the town, said Dahir was in a coma in a Kismayo hospital after several bullets tore through his shoulders in the volatile township. His death came a day after he expressed fear for his life in Kismayo amid escalating insecurity. "I do not know if I can work in this hostile environment anymore. I am so scared," Dahir told AFP on Friday.
