Police storm Mustaqbal radio, destroy, loot equipment

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The Turkish trained Haramad paramilitary unit stormed Radio Mustaqbal in Mogadishu Tuesday morning and destroyed and looted equipment of unknown value amid an ongoing escalation of violence in the city.

Mustaqbal Radio director Ahmed Gutale told Goobjoog News the special operations police unit entered the stations compound at 5.50 am local time and made way into the building where they ransacked and left.

“They destroyed our equipment and took away others. This is a misuse of state power,” Gutale said. He added that some of the staff were assaulted and harassed during the early morning incident.

one of the journalists Bashir Mohamud Yusuf was tortured by police. Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) chairman Abadir Abdulkadir Elmi, said they were saddened by the attack on the radio building in Hodan district and the destruction of some of the station’s equipment.

He called on the Federal Government to ensure all the looted equipment are immediately returned.

Opposition politician and Wadajir party leader Abdirahman Abdishakur alongside militias led by former Banadir region boss Sadaq John and former SNA chief of commander  Yusuf Inda’ade had been residing in the area before they left.

The incident comes amid growing tensions in the city which has seen families flee to the outskirts of Mogadishu.