Human Rights

Gunmen kill Chairperson of Disabled Groups in Baidoa, Southwest State of Somalia

Baidoa, Somalia - (Horn Observer) Gunmen believed to be associated with the Somali militants - Al Shabab on Wednesday killed a human right activist and a chairperson of Disability groups in Baidoa and focal point of Somali Disability and empowerment network (SODEN), according to a statement released…

Vulnerable IDPs in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia forcibly evicted during Covid-19 pandemic

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Over 70,000 people, many of whom are internally displaced, were forcibly evicted from their homes in urban areas across East Africa even during the most prevalent months of the Covid-19 pandemic - a new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council reveals.

CPJ condemns Ethiopian internet shutdown and Oromia Media Network raid

Nairobi, Kenya– In response to a nationwide internet shutdown in Ethiopia and a police raid on the Oromia Media Network, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

SJS condemns closure of Radio Gedo and Somaliland's order to delist Universal TV and Star TV

MOGADISHU, Somalia 29 June, 2020 – Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls for Somali authorities in Gedo to allow Radio Gedo to resume operations and withdraw security forces from the radio premises as we also call for Somaliland authorities to cease its crackdown on Universal TV and Star TV.

Somaliland shutters independent TV, the second in three days

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) strongly condemns the raid and the closure of Universal TV headquarters in Hargeisa by Somaliland police on Saturday 27 June, 2020, the second station shuttered in three days.

SOMA condemns Somali police officer's shooting on radio journalist in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali Media Association (SOMA) condemns the act of shooting which a police officer shot and injured journalist Abdifatah Abduqadir Sharif who works for the Mogadishu-based independent Radio Danan in Mogadishu's Sey Biyano neighborhood on Thursday evening.

Somali police kills a young woman and injures a journalist in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Amid an increasing police brutality in Somalia capital, Somali police shot dead a young woman on Wednesday night in an apparent targeted attack in Hodan district, family and eyewitnesses said.

UN envoy flags need for continuing support for Somalia's Covid-19 hospital

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, accompanied the Federal Minister for Health and Social Care, Dr. Fawziya Abikar Nur, on a visit to a leading Somali hospital playing a critical role in patient care management for COVID-19.

UN calls for more action to eliminate conflict-related sexual violence in Somalia

Mogadishu – On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the United Nations envoy to Somalia today called on Somalia's leaders, communities and partners to do more to assist and listen to victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). He called…

Journalists who covered local protests detained in Sool and Sanaag, says Somali journalists union

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemns the multiple brief arrests against journalists in Sool and Sanaag regions in Somaliland respectively.

CPJ: One journalist in hiding, 2 others detained over protest coverage in Djibouti

New York, June 17, 2020 — Authorities in Djibouti should stop harassing journalists working with the La Voix de Djibouti broadcaster, and ensure that the press can cover matters of public interest without intimidation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Somali police officer kills a street vendor who refused to accept unfit banknotes

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Omar Hassan Moalim, a street vendor has joined into a long list of victims killed by Somalia police in Mogadishu amid an increasing police brutality.

Somalia: Inadequate US Airstrike Investigations

(Nairobi, June 16, 2020) – Two United States airstrikes in Somalia in early 2020 killed seven civilians in apparent violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today. US forces have not adequately investigated a February 2 strike killing one woman at her home, and a March 10 attack that…

AMISOM officers complete training on Gender and Human Rights

Mogadishu, —The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Protection, Human Rights and Gender Unit has completed a two-day online training on the protection of civilians, gender, human rights, International Humanitarian Law, as well as humanitarian concepts in conflict and post-conflict contexts.

Somaliland arrests TV journalist for reporting a road accident involving police vehicle

HARGEISA (HORN OBSERVER) Somaliland authorities on Monday arrested a local TV reporter working for the privately owned SAAB TV, after reporting a road accident involving a police vehicle in Hargeisa, local media and journalists said.

Farmaajo achievement: Civilian killings, Qalbi-Dhagah's extradition and war on media

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) On Saturday, Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo addressed the joint session of the seventh Sitting of the Somali Federal Parliament's both chambers (Upper House and Lower House).

Somali investigators identify but can not name officers who rounded and murdered eight health workers in Gololey

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali investigators have identified military officers who rounded up and murdered eight health workers in Gololey village last week, three senior officials told Horn Observer in an exclusive interviews on Wednesday and Thursday.

The double burden of COVID-19 and locusts in East Africa

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Coinciding with COVID-19, an upsurge of desert locust is taking place in the Horn of Africa, Arabian Peninsula and Southwest Asia, with risk of spreading to the Sahel region of Africa if it is not stopped by July.

EXCLUSIVE: How eight health workers were rounded up and murdered by Somali military in Gololey

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) On Wednesday afternoon, May 27th, around 1.30pm, Muse Mahi, 56-years-old, has finished his midday prayers in the mosque just next to the Mother and Child Health centre (MCH) in Gololey village in the Middle Shabelle region. Suddenly he saw an armed man with AK-47 wearing Somali…

Killing of health workers from rural clinic an appalling tragedy: ICRC

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was deeply shocked by the killing of eight people in Gololey village in the Balcad district in Somalia's Hirshabelle State on Wednesday.