Post date: Jan 19, 2014 1:38:24 PM
Somali rebel group al Shabaab bans the use of the Internet in the Horn of Africa country, giving telecoms operators 15 days to comply with the order.
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (JANUARY 14, 2014) (AU/UN IST) - Billboards advertising Internet services dot the thoroughfares in Somalia's capital,Mogadishu.
Businesses, schools, non-governmental organisations and public institutions are all increasingly reliant on modern technology and communications.But Somali rebel group al Shabaab recently banned the use of the Internet in the Horn of Africacountry, giving telecoms operators 15 days to comply with the order and threatening to punish those who disobey.
Liban Ahmed, who runs an Internet cafe that also doubles up as a travel agency, says his business is completely dependent on having access to the World Wide Web.
"The Internet is especially beneficial to the whole city and particularly for businesses. For us, in our work as a travel agency, we rely on the Internet 100 percent. Our customers are not only those living in this area, they live all over the world. Some live in the U.S. and in the U.K. as well. We book their ticket online and we send it to them via email. So this service is made possible by the Internet connection," he said.
And it's not just businesses that stand to suffer.
Mogadishu resident Deeq Ahmed Shire says most of his personal life revolves around the Internet.
"We cannot live without the Internet. It is very convenient and we have become used to it and it is what keeps us busy. We talk to our friends and we converse with the world. We are able to be in touch everywhere. So it is very beneficial for us. Companies like Hormund have made access to this service easier," he said.
Somali government forces with the support of African Union troops drove al Shabaab out ofMogadishu in 2011, significantly weakening the group. But the rebels, who profess ties to al Qaeda, have continued to carry out hit-and-run attacks on government targets in the capital and beyond.
The group, which has waged a seven-year insurgency fought by militants seeking to impose a strict interpretation of Sharia law, has in the past tried unsuccessfully to ban several aspects of modern life, including mobile phone ringtones, listening to music and money transfer services.
Al Shabaab has also tried to ban movies, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer.
However, this time al Shabaab could potentially carry out their Internet ban in southern and central Somalia, where they still control some areas used by telecoms firms for their operations.
Some analysts, like Abdi Aynte of the Heritage Institute of Policy Studies (HIPS), a Somali think-tank, say al Shabaab are getting increasingly paranoid, afraid that the Internet could be used to track their members and hideouts.
The group frequently uses social media to propagate their views and even to communicate during operations, such as the attack on Kenya's Westgate mall last year.
"I think there are three reasons al Shabaab did this: number one is, it is part of their broader strategy to instill fear in the minds of people. Number two, I think they are afraid to be exposed because mobile technology with high speed internet will allow citizens to transmit data into the rest of the world through social media or through the Internet and whatnot. And the third and perhaps probably the most important one is that they are afraid that this technology will be used to track some of their top fighters as the operations of drones permeates in the areas that al Shabaab controls in south and central Somalia," said Aynte.
Al Shabaab's ban extends to fibre optic technology. The fibre optic cable touched shore in Somalialast year.
There are two main telecoms operators in Somalia: Hormund and Telsom. Hormund, which offers Internet connections through both wireless and fibre optic networks, has been testing its third generation (3G) services in the country.