The IPI global network condemns the double suicide bomb attack that killed one journalist, Mohamed Isse Koonaa, and injured two others and scores of other people on October 29, 2022, in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.

According to a statement by the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), Mohamed Isse Koonaa, a journalist working with Universal Somali TV, was killed in the first bomb attack. Two other journalists, Feisal Omar, who works as a photojournalist with Reuters, and Abdukadir Mohamed Abdulle, a freelancer with VOA’s Somali service, were also injured in the second bomb detonation. The two are said to be responding positively to medical treatments.

The bomb attacks targeted public institutions and killed at least 100 people, including a former journalist of HornAfrik Radio & TV channels, Abdullahi Jama Ali. He fled into exile in 2008 following insecurity issues.

The death of Mohamed Isse Koonan follows that of Ahmed Mohamed Shukur, a journalist working with Somali National Television (SNTV) who was killed in a bomb attack on September 30, 2022.

“IPI extends our condolences to the family and colleagues of Mohamed Isse Koonaa, and we wish the journalists injured in these bombings a speedy recovery”, IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. “And we call on authorities in Somalia to hold those responsible for these atrocities to account.”

In addition, given Somalia’s volatile security context, including repeated bomb attacks, IPI calls on media houses to ensure the implementation of effective safety protocols when deploying journalists in the field.