Somalia frees five journalists

Mogadishu: Somali authorities have released five journalists arrested for reporting fighting between government troops and rebels, according to reports on Friday.

Their radio station is also back on the air on Friday after the five were released late on Thursday.

"We were not interrogated, and a police officer told us that Somalia's police chief ordered our release," said Radio Voice of Peace's editor Shafi Muhidin Abukar.

"A policeman earlier told us that we aired wrong reports on the fighting between insurgents and government police that took place late on Wednesday," Abukar said.

Since 2007, the government has raided and temporarily closed most of the city's nine private radio stations at some point, accusing them of siding with Islamists.