Gunmen kidnap Somali journalist outside capital

An editor in Somalia says gunmen have kidnapped a local journalist on the outskirts of the capital.
1 min read
01 April, 2017
Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabab group remains active in Somalia [AFP illustrative file-photo]

An editor in Somalia says gunmen have kidnapped a local journalist on the outskirts of the capital.

Ahmedwali Hussein says Hanad Ali Guled with the Goobjoog radio and television station was taken by six men on his way to work early Saturday.

Hussein says the journalist called his family from an unknown location and said he was being tortured by his abductors. Hussein says Guled had received death threats a day earlier.

The abduction is reminder of the dangers that reporters face in a war-torn country where authorities have struggled to maintain security amid attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab extremist group.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction.

Somalia is often called one of the world's most dangerous places for media workers.