A local radio station in the insurgent-run southern Somali town of Bardhere was closed down by owners after the arrest of two reporters and the brief detention of its director by Islamist administrators of the town.

Ahmed Omar Salihi, Director of Markabley Radio, was detained Tuesday but released early Wednesday after reports filed by two correspondents for the station were deemed anti-Islamist administrators. Station owners decided to close the station for an indefinite period.

"I was summoned by an official at the local police station where I was told I was under arrest. I was accused of letting the station air anti-Islamic administration reports," Salihi told local Shabelle radio in Mogadishu.

Salahi said that one of the reporters filed a story in which local elder presented an appeal to the Somali government for assistance and the Islamist officials in the town of Bardhere objected to the report saying they do not recognize the legitimacy of the government in Mogadishu.

The director of the station said that they have decided to close the station until they can get "conducive environment" in which they can operate. He did not elaborate.

Few independent media operate in insurgent-held areas in the south and centre of Somalia where several journalists were arrested for stories deemed as negative by Islamist rulers in the area.

Almost 10 journalists were killed in south centre of the war torn Horn of African country while more than 20 others were wounded after they were targeted by unknown gunmen or simply caught in the crossfire of the warring sides.

Somalia is seen by local and international media watchdogs as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists to operate.