Mustafa Haji Abdinur is a Somali

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 journalist and radio correspondent. He was awarded a CPJ International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...

 in 2009.

Early life and education

Abdinur was born in 1981 into a working-class family in the city of Baidoa

Baidoa

Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....

, a small town south-west of Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

. His father, who worked for the government, moved to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 in 1987, three years before the Somali civil war

Somali Civil War

The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...

 broke out. Several years after the collapse of the Somali military regime, Abdinur's family moved to Mogadishu. There, Abdinur completed his high school education. In 1995, he returned to Baidoa, where he studied English.

In Baidoa

Abdinur began to teach English in Baidoa, at the same institute where he had studied. While working as a teacher, he applied for a job as program producer for Radio Baidoa, a small radio station in Baidoa. He successfully passed the examination and was hired to translate world news bulletins and documentaries broadcast by international news channels. Several months later, he began producing his own programs, on topics including agriculture, livestock, and humanitarian crises. Abdinur also began to work as a newscaster and investigative reporter for Radio Baidoa, and studied journalism at a private institute in Baidoa.

Abdinur was forced to move to Mogadishu in 2001, after clashes between clan militias supporting local warlords erupted in Baidoa and disrupted his work. Armed militias took control of the Radio Baidoa building, closed the station, and ordered Abdinur to leave.

In Mogadishu

In Mogadishu, Abdinur continued to study information technology and media. In 2002, he joined the first Somali television and radio network (STN), launched by Somali businessmen after the civil war. He started producing business program and later became a newscaster at STN. During his stay with STN he continued to take journalism courses, becoming one of the few professional Somali journalists working in war torn Somalia.

In 2004, Abdinur joined Radio Shabelle

Shabelle Media Network

Shabelle Media Network is a television and radio news organization. It was founded in 2002 in Merca, Somalia.-History:The Shebelle Media Network runs Radio Shabelle, which is one of the country's most respected privately-owned radio stations....

, another independent radio station run by local businessmen. There, he worked as a producer and news editor.

In 2006, Abdinur led four Radio Shabelle journalists on a one month assignment to cover the severe drought

2006 Horn of Africa food crisis

In 2006, an acute shortage of food affected the countries in the Horn of Africa , as well as northeastern Kenya. The United Nations's Food and Agriculture Organization estimated on January 6, 2006, that more than 11 million people in these countries may be affected by an impending widespread...

 affecting the south and southwest regions of the country. His coverage drew attention from international aid agencies and the Somali community living outside the country, and led to humanitarian assistance for people affected by the drought.

In 2006, Abdinur also worked as the editor for the English page of the Shabelle Media Network, the only internationally sourced English page in Somalia at that time. The same year, he started contributing for the Agence France-Presse (AFP). He currently works as a Somalia correspondent for Agence France-Presse.

In 2007, Abdinur and a business partner started Radio Simba, which has over 2 million listeners across southern and central Somalia.

In late 2008, Abdinur had a motorbike accident as he was covering clashes between Ethiopian troops and Islamist insurgents in southern Mogadishu. He broke his knee, and was taken to a hospital in Kenya for surgery. While recovering, he took a UK-based long distance freelance journalism course.

In 2009, he won an International Press Freedom Award

CPJ International Press Freedom Awards

The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honour journalists around the world who show courage in defending press freedom in the face of attacks, threats or imprisonment. Created in 1991, the awards are administered by the Committee to Protect Journalists....

 from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...

. The award is given for journalists who show courage in defending press freedom in the face of attacks, threats or imprisonment.

Personal life

Abdinur married a former journalist and human rights activist in 2004. They had their first child in 2005, and later had two more daughters. After several of his friends and co-workers were killed and his family was threatened, Abdinur moved his family away from Mogadishu. He himself, however, stayed in Mogadishu and continued working.