Channel 4 cameraman shot dead in Mogadishu

An unidentified gunman shot dead a Swedish cameraman during a demonstration in the Somali capital today.

The assailant shot the cameraman in the chest at close range, killing him on the spot before disappearing in the crowd, a reporter who witnessed the shooting said.

Another Western reporter who was walking with the victim was unhurt.

In Stockholm, Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nina Ersman said the man was a Swedish citizen who was working as a cameraman for the British TV station Channel 4.

Somalis had been demonstrating in support of an agreement intended to ease tensions between the country’s weak government and an Islamic militia that has seized control of Mogadishu.

The demonstrators, who also were protesting against neighbouring Ethiopia’s alleged interference in Somali affairs, fled the Trabunka grounds in panic after the solitary gunshot rang out.

Dozens of sandals littered the scene.

In February 2005, an unidentified gunman shot dead a BBC journalist in Mogadishu. Kate Peyton, a BBC Africa producer, was accompanied by another BBC journalist who was not injured.