http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/01/somali-comedian-islamists-shot-dead?newsfeed=true
Somali comedian who mocked Islamists is shot dead
Abdi Jeylani Marshale is said to have been shot in the head and chest as he
left a radio station in Mogadishu
David Smith in Johannesburg
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 August 2012 14.08 BST
One of Somalia's most popular comedians, known for his parodies of Islamist
militants, has been shot dead in the capital, Mogadishu.
Abdi Jeylani Marshale was reportedly killed shortly after leaving a local radio
station where he worked as a drama producer and performer.
It is not known who carried out the murder but last year Marshale was
threatened by the extremist group al-Shabaab, prompting him to go into hiding
in neighbouring Somaliland for several days.
Witnesses told the BBC that Marshale was shot several times in the head and
chest by two men armed with pistols. The gunmen have not been caught.
Yusuf Keynan, a presenter at Kulmiye Radio, where Marshale worked, was quoted
in media reports as saying: "He had not done anything wrong to anybody, as far
as we are concerned, but they shot him in the head and shoulders. This is a
black day for the entire entertainment industry. He was a leader in Somalia
comedy and everybody liked his performance."
Kulmiye Radio reported that hundreds of journalists, relatives, supporters and
dignitaries attended his funeral. The site quoted the station owner, Osman
Abdullah Guure, as urging journalists to carry guns to protect themselves: "I
strongly encourage the journalists to take their guns and not consider any one
protecting them; it is time to defend ourselves."
Marshale also worked for Universal TV, a London-based Somali satellite TV
station. Another Universal employee, reporter and anchor Abdulkadir Omar
Abdulle, survived a shooting on Saturday, according to the Committee to Protect
Journalists, which says six journalists have been killed in the Horn of Africa
country this year.
On Wednesday Somali security forces shot dead a would-be suicide bomber who
tried to attack the venue of a national conference on a draft constitution,
while a second attacker blew himself up, injuring six officers, police said.
"The two bombers wore government uniform. Six policemen were injured," Colonel
Mohamed Ali, a police officer, told Reuters.
"One jumped over a wall opposite the conference building but he was shot dead
outside the gate. Then another bomber jumped from another wall and his bomb
exploded where government soldiers stood."
The gathering overwhelmingly backed a new constitution, paving the way for a
new government to be elected this month under a UN-backed plan.
Of the 645 members of the constituent assembly present, 621 backed the
document, 13 voted against and 11 abstained.
The constitutional affairs minister, Abdirahman Hosh Jabril, said: "This is an
historic day today we have witnessed the completion of a task that has been
worked on for the last eight years."
African Union troops and the UN-backed government have forced al-Shabaab out of
Mogadishu but the al-Qaida-linked group frequently stages attacks in the city.
It still controls many areas of southern and central Somalia.
The country has been without a functioning national government since 1991.
------------------------------------
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe : [email protected]
Unsubscribe : [email protected]
List owner : [email protected]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
