Somali information chief says war fueled by 'dueling messages'

St. Paul, Minn. — The minister of information for Somalia's embattled government says he is in a war of another kind with rebel groups threatening to destroy any hope for stability in the ravaged East African Country.
Rather than relying on guns and mortar attacks, this battle is fueled by dueling messages, says Dahir Gelle, Somalia's minister of information. His country's weak government is trying to fend off the extremist group al-Shabaab, which has gained control of much of southern Somalia.
Gelle will join a U.S. State Department official tonight at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Center for a discussion on U.S. foreign policy in the war-ravaged East African nation.
Last fall, Gelle helped revive Radio Mogadishu, a nationally run FM radio station that had gone silent for nearly 20 years. Al-Shabaab has ordered residents under its control not to listen to the station, but Gelle says the ban has had the opposite effect.,more..