The war-torn country of Somalia is the most dangerous place for reporters after Iraq. AFP
NAIROBI // Ten years after he fled his war-torn homeland of Somalia, Ahmed Aden returned to give a voice to the millions of Somalis living in fear under the rule of violent clan-based militias.

Mr Aden lived as a refugee in Ottawa, Canada, but left his well-paid job, comfortable home and family to launch Horn Afrik, an independent radio and television station, in Mogadishu in 1999.

“The establishment of Horn Afrik came at a time when Somalis needed dialogue,” Mr Aden said during a recent visit to Kenya. “Information was key to solving the clan conflict.”

The station quickly built a following among Somalis who are starved for news about the civil war that has ravaged their country for 17 years.

But reporting from Somalia has not been easy. Gunmen have stolen Horn Afrik’s equipment, raided its offices and killed its journalists. Somalia remains one of the most hostile places on earth for reporters.

“The media environment in Mogadishu today is more challenging than ever,” said Mr Aden, who is now the minister of information in Somalia’s fledgling government.

“The media will not work unless there is peace.”

By all accounts, Somalia is a failed state that has largely been abandoned by the West. The country has operated without a strong central government since 1991, when Said Barre’s dictatorship was overthrown by clan-based militias.

Since then, the militias have fought each other for control of the country, displacing one million people and causing one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world.

The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia was created in 2004, but it conducted business in neighbouring Kenya for the first two years because of violence in Somalia.

In 2006, the parliament met for the first time in Somalia. But in the past two years, the government has failed to maintain order. Government security forces have killed, looted and committed the same kinds of atrocities as the militias they are supposed to be policing.

Six weeks ago, insurgents performed another hit-and-run against government troops when they seized a village north of Mogadishu.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media watchdog, has labelled Somalia the second most dangerous place for journalists after Iraq. Seven reporters were killed in Somalia in 2007 and 50 Somali journalists have fled the country, the committee said.

“The bloody conflict in Mogadishu has become a threat to journalists,” said Omar Osman, secretary general of the Union of Somali Journalists. “Freedom of the press is in peril.”

Horn Afrik and other independent media have been targets. Horn Afrik’s talk shows and news programmes have criticised the warlords for destroying the country. The station has also been hostile to the transitional government.

Last year, two Horn Afrik co-founders were killed. Ali Sharmarke, a Somali-Canadian, was killed by a roadside bomb on the same day that Mahad Elmi was shot a close range. In March, Horn Afrik and two other radio stations were raided by government soldiers.

Al Jazeera, the news network based in Qatar, has been barred from reporting from the country for being critical of the transitional government, according to Mohammed Adow, a Somali Al Jazeera reporter who covers Somalia.

“The media in Somalia is under siege,” Mr Adow said. “It is threatened and shaken to the core.”

Mr Adow said independent stations like Horn Afrik are desperately needed in Somalia in the absence of international media.

“Horn Afrik has been filling a void left by the lack of government,” he said.

“It is educating the public that hasn’t had an education system for 17 years.”

In his new role as information minister, Mr Aden is part of the government that his former station criticises. With his background in journalism, Mr Aden is in a good position to bridge the gap between the media and the government.

“There was an attempt by the government to influence the media by force,” Mr Aden said. “The media was hostile to the government because it did not have access to the government. I am trying to bring the two sides together.”

Working from the other side, he thinks he can help the country foster an environment that tolerates a critical media.

“What we are trying to do is create an environment where media operate freely,” Mr Aden said. “It’s the responsibility of the government to create that environment. But it’s the responsibility of the media to report accurately.”

Shabelle Media Network