War on Journalists in Somalia Continues

The presence of a new government has not dampened the rate at which journalists in the country are being killed

It was a Thursday afternoon in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, when I decided to head to the popular new restaurant known as The Village, opposite the National Theater. That decision almost ended my life.

The restaurant, built recently by a returning Somali diaspora businessman, had become a symbol of Mogadishu's newfound hope after years of civil war. It was a place where journalists, activists and reform-minded politicians gathered to talk about the issues facing our rebuilding nation.