Mohammed Omer Mulla

Journalists from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan to the U.S. were targeted for murder in 2018 in reprisal for their work, bringing the total of journalists killed on duty to its highest in three years. The number of journalists killed in conflict fell to its lowest level since 2011.  A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser. The number of journalists targeted for murder in reprisal for their reporting nearly doubled in 2018 from a year earlier, driving up the overall count of journalists killed on the job. Afghanistan, where extremists have stepped up deliberate attacks on journalists, was the deadliest country and accounted for much of the increase. At least 53 journalists were  killed around the world between January 1 and December 14, 2018, of which at least 34 were  singled out for murder . CPJ tracks three types of journalists’ deaths on the job: reprisal murders; deaths in  combat or crossfire  (11 this year, the lowest since 2011); and deaths on other  dangerous assignments , such

(JOHANNESBURG) — An intense spate of six U.S. airstrikes on a coastal town in Somalia, in which 62 people were killed, were pre-emptive strikes to prevent a major extremist attack, according to a Somali intelligence officer. The U.S. military said Monday it carried out four strikes on Dec. 15 in which 34 people were killed and two more on Dec. 16 which killed 28. The air attacks targeted Gandarshe, south of the capital, Mogadishu, it said. No civilians were injured or killed in the attacks, it said. The strikes were carried out in close coordination with Somalia's government and were "conducted to prevent al-Shabab from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire, and recruit for future attacks," said the U.S. military statement. The U.S. airstrikes were aimed at al-Shabab fighters who were preparing a major attack on a Somali government military base in the Lower Shabelle region, said a Somali intelligence official, who insisted on anonymit

Add caption (Baidao)-Lawmakers in Somalia's South West region elected a new president Wednesday, with a former leader of militant group al-Shabab kept off the ballot despite angry protests last week from supporters. Officials confirmed to VOA that Somalia's former state minister for trade, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, also known as Lafta Gareen, is the region's new leader. Mohamed won 101 out of 147 votes from regional lawmakers, defeating three other candidates.  Analysts predicted the victory of Mohamed last week after Mukhtar Robow, the former spokesman and deputy leader of al-Shabab, was arrested by Somali police in the region's main town, Baidoa, and taken to Mogadishu. Somalia's federal government banned Robow from running in the election, noting that he is subject to U.N. Security Council sanctions. They also accused him of being a security threat. At least 12 people were killed in Baidoa in violence that erupted following Robow's arrest. Among thos