The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned in the strongest terms possible the arrest and continued detention without charge of the director of Shabelle Media Network, Abdirashid Omar Qase and the station's news editor, Abdi Mohammed Ismail who were taken into custody by members of the National Security Agency of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The journalists were arrested on Sunday, 27 March 2011, in relation to a story that was aired concerning the failure of the President, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, to tour areas captured from the extremists group, Al-Shabaab.

Unrest in Yemen has prompted hundreds of Somali refugees to once again risk a deadly sea crossing, this time to return to their home country, say officials and migrants. This year alone some 89 people drowned or went missing while crossing the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen. The worst single incident took place in late February when some 57 refugees died after their boat capsized, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Since 2008, well over 1,000 people have failed to survive the crossing.