Somalia’s interim government, acting through its Committee for the National Security Council, has ordered the Al Jazeera office in Mogadishu to stop its operation from Thursday 22 March 2007. There have been no any explanations or reasons provided for the decision.
Wadah Khanfar, Director General of the Al Jazeera Network, stated that: “Al Jazeera, while expressing its disappointment of the decision to close our office in Mogadishu, reasserts its commitment to the principles of the free press and defends the right of viewers to know what happens across the world with impartiality and integrity.”
Al Jazeera has confirmed that it will continue to cover events in Somalia from other sources and locations as it has in the past when previous governments closed down its offices. Al Jazeera English has been noted reporting the situation in Mogadishu since the Al Jazeera office closure, using agency pictures.