Somalia's transitional government has closed down three main FM stations in the capital, Mogadishu, local journalists union said on Thursday.

A statement from the National Union of Somali Journalists ( NUSOJ) said Mogadishu-based radio stations Shabelle Media Network, Horn Afrik and IQK and a Koranic radio station were all shut down by a Somali government decree on Wednesday.

"We were distressed by the order of closing down the radio stations as an unanticipated act, and we demand immediate and sensible explanations from the Transitional Government on the closure of Radio Stations," said Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of NUSOJ in a statement.

"We are deeply concerned by this move as media community and the transitional government are jointly developing legal framework in a consultative and inclusive process to guarantee media freedom, " added Omar Faruk.

This is the second time these three radio stations have been targeted in the past six months and no reason has been given for this latest closure.

In January, the transitional government banned the same three Mogadishu-based FM stations including Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network for 24 hours following the ousting of members of the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) from the city in January.

Source: Xinhua