Somalia police force radio station off

Police in Somalia have stormed the
Mogadishu headquarters of the
independent radio station, Shabelle,
forcing it off the air.
The authorities said they were taking
back possession of the building, which
belonged to the government.The radio
station is well known for being critical of
senior officials.
The move is the latest in a series of
attacks on independent journalists by
the government and the Islamist group,
Al-Shabaab, media activists say.
The station had previously been ordered
to leave the building.
Radio Shabelle reported on its website
that police forced their way into the
studio and beat journalists.
Witnesses told the AFP news agency
that radio employees were seen being
loaded into trucks.
A police officer said that the raid had
"nothing to do with Radio Shabelle's
current activities," the agency reported.
The Somali interior ministry says that
the building housing Radio Shabelle was
previously occupied by the national
airline, and so should revert to the
government.
Radio Shabelle says it was occupying the
building, which is near Mogadishu's
airport and in a secure area, legally after
an agreement with the previous
government.
The Reporters Without Borders
organisation, which campaigns for
freedom of information and helps
journalists, says journalists working in
Somalia face "extreme dangers".
Eighteen journalists were killed in
Somalia in 2012 alone, the organisation
says, and 10 Radio Shabelle journalists
have been murdered since 2007.
Reporters Without Borders gave its
annual international press freedom
award to Radio Shabelle in 2010.
-BBC
F

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