Somalia shuts down newspaper, arrests editor

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A Somali journalist says that security forces shut down a newspaper and arrested its editor.

Ahmed Mohamed, a journalist at the Xog-Ogaal newspaper, confirmed the arrest on Sunday of editor Abdi Adan Guled, after troops raided the publication, one of Somalia's oldest daily newspapers in Mogadishu.

Guled's arrest comes before Somalia holds a presidential election on November 30.

The National Union of Somali Journalists condemned Guled's arrest and called for his immediate release. No comment could be reached from Somali officials on the journalist's arrest.

According to journalists, threats and intimidations against journalists often increase during elections in Somalia, which is rated as one of the world's most dangerous countries for media workers. Rights groups say journalists are targeted by both Islamic extremists and the government.