Murdered BBC Producer was 'targeted', says NUJ

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has claimed that BBC Producer Kate Peyton, who died yesterday after being shot in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, was apparently 'targeted'.

Ms Peyton, who was shot by unidentified gunmen in a taxi while on assignment in Mogadishu, died from internal bleeding despite undergoing emergency surgery.

The 39-year-old producer had only just arrived in Somalia with reporter Peter Greste to make a series of BBC reports about the country. The shooting occurred outside the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu, which is used regularly by foreign journalists. Mr Greste was unharmed in the attack.

The NUJ, which described Mogadishu as "lawless", is in contact with colleagues in the Somali Journalists Network (SOJON) who are investigating and pressing for a full official inquiry.

Mogadishu police say they have located the taxi and the pistol used in the attack, but the two men involved have not been tracked down.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: "This dreadful shooting, coming just after the announcement that more journalists were killed last year than in any year before, reminds us just how dangerous reporting has become.

"129 journalists were killed around the world last year, and one reason for the rising death toll is that the killers are rarely pursued and brought to justice. If a government like Somalia's is incapable of doing this then the international community must take it on. We will ask the UK government to press the UN as well as the Somali authorities to pursue these killers."

BBC Director of News Helen Boaden said: "Kate was one of our most experienced and respected foreign affairs producers who had worked all over Africa and all over the world.

"She will be greatly missed, both professionally and personally. Our thoughts are with her partner, Roger, his daughter, and Kate's mother, brother and sister.

"We are in touch with the family and are doing everything we can to support them at this terrible time."

BBC Director-General Mark Thompson said: "I am profoundly shocked and saddened by the news of Kate Peyton's death today. Kate had worked for the BBC since 1993 and was dedicated to covering news across the African continent.

"All our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time."

Currently, a number of foreign reporters are in the capital covering a government team that is assessing conditions for the return of Somalia's government-in-exile from Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya.

Somalia has been the scene of almost continuous civil war for 14 years, a conflict that at its height saw 15 journalists killed during the 1990s.

Ms Peyton who grew up in Suffolk, had been based in Africa for a number of years. She had also worked as a producer and trainer for the South African Broadcasting Corporation in Johannesburg.

(GB)