'Foreign enemy' blamed for journalist's death
The Islamic militia that has seized control of Somalia’s capital said today the killing of a Swedish journalist was planned by a foreign enemy that wants to shatter weeks of relative peace in the Horn of Africa nation.
Martin Adler, 47, was killed instantly with a single gunshot to his back during a Friday rally in Mogadishu, where anger at foreigners runs high. His body arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, today aboard a Red Cross plane before returning to Sweden.
“The killing was planned from outside the country and aimed at destabilising Somalia after the Islamic Courts Union drove out the ruthless warlords,” said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the group’s chairman. He did not elaborate.
Many demonstrators at Friday’s rally were protesting alleged interference in Somali affairs by Ethiopia, the country’s long-time enemy. Ethiopia has intervened in Somalia in the past to prevent Islamic extremists from taking power.
The crowd also was celebrating a mutual recognition pact this week between the Islamic militia and the largely powerless, UN-backed transitional government.
The anti-foreigner sentiment in Somalia has been stoked by reports that the widely despised warlords defeated by the Islamic leaders this month had been secretly financed by the CIA. US officials have accused the Islamists of harbouring al-Qaida leaders responsible for the deadly 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Adler’s death was a blow to the militia group’s pledge to pacify Mogadishu after 15 years of anarchy by installing a strict Islamic state.
Somalia has been wracked by anarchy since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each another.
At least 13 other journalists have been killed in Somalia since 1991, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. In February 2005, BBC Africa producer Kate Peyton was fatally shot in Mogadishu.
Adler is survived by his wife and two children. Swedish news agency TT described him as one of the country’s most successful video journalists, who covered some 20 conflicts and other stories in dozens of nations.
“You can die anywhere at any time,” Adler said in a January 2005 interview with Amnesty Press. “But you can eliminate 90% of the risks” through careful preparation and keeping a cool head.
Today, the Islamic Courts Union said it would establish a committee devoted to protecting foreign journalists in the capital.
