Female Journalist Killed In Somalia [Report]

A female journalist was killed in Somalia around 9:30 pm on Sunday. The journalist was 21-year-old Rahma Abdulkadir, a women’s rights reporter.

She was returning to her home in the Yaaqshiid neighborhood of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Colleagues and friends confirmed her death.

Abdulkadir was traveling with a fellow journalist, Munira Ibrahim, at the time. They were leaving an internet cafe when two men shot her. Ibrahim recalled:

“Two men armed with pistols approached us and started shooting Ms Abdulkadir. Within seconds I saw her falling on the ground with a lot of blood coming from her head. They shot her in the head three times and in the neck two times. There were no police and I had to escape from the scene.”

Igrahim and Abdulkadir worked together at Radio Caabudwaaq in the Galgaduud region of central Somalia. She was described as an active young journalist.

She moved to Mogadishu last January and was planning to join a local university. Adbukarim Bulhan, the station’s director, added of the female journalist who was killed:

“She was an active and young female journalist with the aspiration to be a role model. Her main focus was human rights in Somalia, particularly women’s rights.”

Abdulkadir is the third journalist to be killed in Somalia so far this year. No group immediately claimed responsibility for her murder.

Twelve media workers were also killed in the country last year — the worst year on record so far. The Somali government has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a journalist killer. However, no responsible parties have been prosecuted in the past decade.

The Committee to Protect Journalists stated that Abdulqadir was visiting Mogadishu from central Somalia where the station is based. It is not yet clear what could have made the female journalist killed in Somalia a target.

[Image via UNESCO]