Saturday, August 13, 2011

Hate Us on Facebook! Somali Militants' Bizarre Social Media Campaign

MOGADISHU — The messages were mostly texted, in broken English: "welcome to islam o unbeliever. i am abu mansur al'amrica from america. I am a member of al shabaab in somalia..."Barigye Ba-Hoku has received hundreds of text messages like this. Until April, the Ugandan soldier was the spokesperson for the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). His contact details were widely available — so daily, he got dozens of threatening messages from the al-Shabaab Islamist terror network against which Amisom is fighting.Al-Shabaab propagandists have become fairly well-known since the beginning of the famine catastrophe in Somalia, in large part because the organization — which controls large parts of central and southern Somalia — is refusing to let United Nation aid groups into the country.
Those shut out include the UN World Food Program, the largest distributor of food aid in the world. While some organizations like Doctors Without Borders are tolerated in certain areas, and others go about their work despite the danger to their lives, al-Shabaab is denying the patently evident: that about half of Somalia's population — 3.2 million people, according to the UN — need life-saving emergency aid.
In the last few weeks alone, 29,000 children under the age of five have died. Last week, the UN officially declared famine in three further regions. Unimpressed, al-Shabaab (shabaab means "youth" in Arabic) continued its propaganda that UN aid organizations have to be kept out so as to prevent them from pursuing their "political agenda."
Several of the group's spokesmen have, since the start of the famine, given interviews to American TV channels. "There's a drought, but no famine," Sheikh Ali Dhere told PBS, adding that a famine could be dealt with by Somali companies and communities.
At around the same time, another spokesman, Ali Mohamoud Rageh, was telling journalists at a press conference in Mogadishu that the latest reports from the "so-called United Nations" were "100% a lie."

Cooperation with al-Qaeda since 2008
As more and more Somalis reach the conclusion that al-Shabaab is responsible for mass deaths from famine, the terrorists are cranking up their propaganda machine. Since 2008, the group has been cooperating with al-Qaeda and taking pointers from the latter's propaganda arm, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF).

Al-Shabaab's war tactics have not only become more "professional" as a result, so has their ability to manipulate the masses. Foreign extremists have brought them valuable equipment that their "al-Kataib" propaganda arm uses to produce videos and audio clips that they force Somali radio stations to broadcast.

On the ground in Mogadishu, Die Welt was shown burned car tires on a street near the front by Amisom soldiers. "Al-Shabaab burned them and then claimed that the smoke came from Amisom rocket attacks against civilians," Amisom spokesman Ba-Hoku said."They also dressed some of their dead fighters in civilian clothes and exhibited them to the press, saying they were civilian casualties." However, one genuine Amisom offensive in 2008 did draw criticism, also from Amnesty International, for the alleged death of 21 civilians. Among the casualties were some religious figures.
Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry, which was responsible for Amisom soldiers at the time, claimed that Amnesty International had been "misled by al-Shabaab and its supporters": saying only one Muslim cleric had been killed, and only because he was resisting.In such cases, the truth is very difficult to determine. The press is not free in Somalia any more. Even the UN-supported transitional government, which controls about half of Mogadishu, arrests journalists for allegations of spreading false information.Al-Shabaab takes more drastic measures against journalists reporting news it disagrees with: according to the human rights organization Reporters without Borders, more journalists are killed in Somalia than in any other country on the planet.Particular pressure is applied to radio stations — the major medium in structure-poor countries like Somalia. The biggest station in the center of the country, Radio Jowhar, got paid a visit in late June by three al-Shabaab officials.The terrorists threatened to take over the station unless it broadcast only information that was favorable to al-Shabaab. Radio Jowhar ended up capitulating, and now also broadcasts a daily hour-long program produced by al-Shabaab.Systematically, al-Shabaab leaders use other channels to recruit new members, such as emotional speeches or DVD presentations at religious assemblies. The propaganda is mostly produced in English so as to reach as wide an audience as possible.The organization is even active on Facebook. Although the social network platform forbids content that incites violence, Islamic groups get around that. Al-Shabaab, for example, set its page up as the "Al-Kataib Media Foundation" and uploaded its videos there.The page has been taken down, but that won't stop them: the content will be copied onto a new page and become available online again. Time

No comments:

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

Blog Archive

We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

Terror Free Somalia Foundation