Friday June 23, 2006 (HOL): Swedish camerman Martin Adler who has been working for Chanel 4 television in Britain has been fatally shot in the heart earlier today in Mogadishu. At the time of the shooting, the reporter was covering a rally taking place in a field know as Tarabuka.
The rally was organized by supporters of the Union of Islamic Courts (UICs) which recently took control of Mogadishu and other key towns in southern Somalia.
The rally, attended by thousands of people according to some estimates, was in support of the agreement signed yesterday in Khartoum between the interim federal government and the UICs. The assailant who disappeared into the crowd is unknown. Also unknown is the motive behind the killing. It is rumored that the killer may be someone opposed to the presence of foreigners in Somalia even if they are civilians.
Security forces loyal to the UICs were in charge of the security of the venue of the rally at the time of the shooting. UICs forces at the venue of the rally looked extra vigilant and at one point used barbed wires to
keep away demonstrators from the stage where senior UICs members where giving lectures .
High ranking representatives from the UICs have condemned the killing and are expected to release a statement regarding the incident in the coming hours.
Mr. Adler is the third foreign reporter killed in Mogadishu since 1994. The other two are Illaria Alpi, killed in March 1994 who was working for the Italian television of Rai, and Kate Payton, killed in February 2005
who was working for the BBC.
Original reporting by: Salad Iidow Xasan (Xiis), Hiiraan Online
sxiis@hiiraan.com
Mogadishu, Somalia
Translation by: Mohamed Amin, Hiiraan Online
mamin@hiiraan.com
Source: HOL, June 23, 2006
