Gunmen in Mogadishu have killed the director of one of Somalia’s largest broadcasters – Radio Shabelle

Mokhtar Mohamed Hirab was killed Sunday in the Somali capital. Witnesses say he was shot several times in the head.

Another journalist who was with Hirab was wounded and is in the hospital.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders says Somalia is the deadliest country in Africa for journalists.

On Saturday, witnesses in Somalia said two days of fighting between rival Islamist groups in the country’s central region have left at least 64 people dead.

Local leaders said scores of bodies were seen in the streets of the central town of Wabho after fighters from a hardline Islamist group, al-Shabab, and their allies, Hizbul Islam, battled a moderate Islamist group, Ahla Sunna Waljamaca, Friday and Saturday.

It is not clear who controls the town, but residents say the fighting had stopped by late Saturday.

Violence in Somalia escalated about a month ago, when extremists led by al-Shabab launched an offensive against government positions in Mogadishu.

Aid groups say the fighting has displaced up to 70,000 Mogadishu residents. Many are living in camps south of the city, in what aid officials describe as deplorable conditions.

The Horn of Africa country has not had a stable central government since 1991.

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