On 21 August 2006, gunmen killed the driver of a car carrying three members of the National Union of Somali journalists (NUSOJ) from the southern city of Baidoa to Mogadishu on 4 August.
Three gunmen killed Madey Garas in an ambush as he drove NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman, two other NUSOJ officials and their two bodyguards to the Somali capital.
The human rights defenders encountered a checkpoint manned by three armed men about 45 km from Baidoa – the seat of the weak interim Somali government. According to the human rights defenders, there is no recognized authority in the region so the car did not stop. As they passed the checkpoint, the NUSOJ bodyguards took out their guns and the three gunmen opened fired on the car; killing the driver immediately
NUSOJ official, Fahad Mohamed Abukar was slightly injured in the exchange of fire that ensued between the men at the checkpoint and the bodyguards. The three gunmen eventually fled.
The union officials had been on their way to a meeting with members of the Supreme Islamic Courts council. The supreme Islamic Courts Council controls Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia.
