The committee for the national security council of the Somali interim government ordered that the Al Jazeera office in Mogadishu stop its operation as from Thursday 22 March 2007, without giving any explanations or reasons behind 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 also affirmed 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.
