BBC Somali Service Accused Of Abetting The Islamic Courts

Mogadishu , Somalia, November 03, 2006 – Many Somalis who depend on BBC's Somali service for their daily news dose were outraged when the service decided not to cover a recent massacre in a small town in southern Somalia. At least four wounded militia men were killed in their hospital beds by Islamic Courts' men. The courts apologized numerous times and promised a complete and impartial investigation. So far BBC Somali Service, the farthest reaching Somali language and publicly funded radio did not even mention this verified main event.

Somalia 's renowned artist who is always critical to Somali politicians and Ethiopian government pitched in and dedicated his Tuesday's cartoon to the killings and BBC's silence. The caption Mr. Amin Amir's above cartoon says "Why is BBC silent about Buale's massacre. Unconfirmed reports say the families of the victims contacted the highest level of the BBC Somali service to no avail.

Many believe BBC Somali service has always been partial and inaccurate while though minority, many think it is actually part of Somalia's problem.

SomaliNet has a concrete prove with images that shows BBC Somali Service management going out of their way to suppress other news agencies who reported a different version of one of their reports. The incident happened in early 2000 when Mr. Hussein Mohamed Aidid and his militia fought with another militia loyal to then interim president Abdiqasim Salad Hassan at Mogadishu seaport. The service has many critics and this information could be misused if it went to the wrong hands. It will however be told after the current management's tenure is over.

Source: SomaliNet