Somalia's Insurgents Embrace Twitter As a Weapon

Nxxx,2011-12-15,A,010,Bs-BW,E1 A10 N THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2011 Somalia’s Insurgents EmbraceTHURSDAY, Twitter DECEMBER 15, 2011 as a Weapon By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN NAIROBI, Kenya — Think of it as the Battle of the Tweets. Somalia’s powerful Islamist insurgents, the Shabab, best known for chopping off hands and starving their own people, just opened a Twitter account, and in the past week they have been writing up a storm, bragging about recent attacks and taunting their enemies. “Your inexperienced boys flee from confrontation & flinch in the face of death,” the Shabab wrote in a post to the Kenyan Army. It is an odd, almost downright hypocritical move from brutal militants in one of world’s most broken-down countries, where millions of people do not have enough food to eat, let alone a laptop. The Shabab have vehemently rejected Western practices — banning Western music, movies, haircuts and bras, and even blocking Western aid for famine victims, all in the name of their brand of puritanical Islam — only to embrace Twitter, one of the icons of a modern, networked society. On top of that, the Shabab MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR/ASSOCIATED PRESS clearly have their hands full right The Shabab’s fighters are waging a war against Somalia’s interim government and peacekeepers. now, facing thousands of African Union peacekeepers, the Kenyan bab wrote. “Sure your comments lost only 10. African Union offi- statements. He added that the military, the Ethiopian military will invite derision but try to cials later conceded that the Sha- carefully composed e-mails and and the occasional American muster (or feign) courage at bab had been correct. the Twitter account, which began drone strike all at the same time. least.” Somalia’s TheInsurgents man behind the e-mails EmbraceDec. 7, were part of a reinvigorat- But terrorism experts say that Few Somalia hands are sur- and possibly the Twitter posts ed Shabab effort to burnish their Twitter terrorism is part of an prised by all this. The Shabab calls himself Sheik Yoonis, which public image. emerging trend and that several may be bloodthirsty, andTwitter in the is probably as a nom a de guerre.Weapon He Shabab fighters recently held a other Qaeda franchises — a few areas they control — and they has respondedby Jeffrey to Gettleman written ques- quiz show for children. (The years ago the Shabab pledged al- still control many — they have tions from The New York Times prizes were grenades and an legiance to Al Qaeda — are in- yanked out gold teeth, beheaded and during a few rare telephone AK-47.) In October, Shabab lead- creasingly using social media like NAIROBI,shopkeepers, Kenya sawed — off Think arms ofand it asinterviews the Battle ofspoke the Tweets.with a clipped ers invited a masked Qaeda emis- Facebook, MySpace, YouTube stoned adulterers. Yet, at the sary to hand out dates and sacks and Twitter. The Qaeda branch in British accent. same time, they have shown their of rice to famine victims. And just Yemen has proved especially Somalia’s powerful Islamist insurgents,The Shabab the Shabab, news releases best known are for chopping off hands and starving technical skills, making powerful this week the Shabab announced adept at disseminating teachings their own people, just opened a Twitterwritten account, in colloquial, and in theoften past clever, week they have been writing up a storm, suicide bombs and roadside ex- English, like this warning to the opening of a new “War Statis- and commentary through several braggingplosives. Theyabout also recent have attacks a geeky and taunting their enemies. different social media networks. peacekeepers from Burundi: tics Office,” clearly an attempt to side, showcasing their work convey a modicum of profession- “Social media has helped ter- “You now have a choice to make. through slick propaganda videos, alism. rorist groups recruit individuals, Web sites and digital chat rooms. fund-raise and distribute propa- ERITREA But few Somalis are fooled. Beyond that — and quite YEMEN The Shabab’s policies are imper- ganda more efficiently than they frightening to many American of- have in the past,” said Seth G. Gulf of Aden iling what matters most — sur- ficials — is the fact that educated DJIBOUTI vival. Last month, with a famine Jones, a political scientist at the Westerners are clearly working RAND Corporation. still stalking parts of southern So- for the Shabab. Several Somali- SOMALIA For the Shabab, this often malia, the Shabab shut down 16 Americans have killed them- ETHIOPIA more aid groups, which many aid translates into pithy postings, selves as suicide bombers, and like “Europe was in darkness officials said was a surefire way even non-Somali Westerners, in- to slowly kill thousands. Ever when Islam made advances in cluding one man from Alabama, physics, Maths, astronomy, archi- since the famine swept across are serving as battlefield com- Mogadishu southern Somalia this summer, tecture, etc. before passing on the manders. torch,” and sarcastic jabs at the KENYA the Shabab have been blocking Of course, it is impossible to food deliveries, diverting river Kenyan Army. Kenya’s military know who exactly is operating Indian spokesman, Maj. Emmanuel Ocean water from starving farmers to the Twitter account, HSMPress, Nairobi their friends and even forcibly Chirchir, is also a loquacious writ- which refers to the Harakat al- warehousing sick people in their er of posts, and the result is noth- Shabab al-Mujahedeen, or Move- 300 MILES own displaced persons camps. ing short of a full-on Twitter war. ment of Holy Warrior Youth, the THE NEW YORK TIMES Tens of thousands have al- After Major Chirchir wrote Shabab’s full name. But African that the Shabab might be trans- Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, ready starved, and many Somalis Union and Western officials have has been hit by fierce fighting. porting weapons on donkeys and said the account is legitimate, are now cheering on the Kenyan that “any large concentration and HSMPress recently used and Ethiopian troops, traditional- and movement of loaded donkeys Twitter to publish the identifica- ly mistrusted as meddling out- will be considered as Al Shabaab tion cards of several missing Afri- Strict Islamists see the siders, who recently invaded So- activity,” the Shabab responded: can Union peacekeepers, pre- advantage of a malia to push the Shabab out of “Like bombing donkeys, you sumably killed in battle. On border areas. mean! Your eccentric battle Wednesday, the African Union modern megaphone. On the streets of Mogadishu, a strategy has got animal rights confirmed that the cards were shot-up city that has been sus- groups quite concerned, Major.” authentic. pended in 20 years of civil war Major Chirchir fired back, The Twitter account is linked to and anarchy, few people have “Life has better to offer than Either you call for the immediate ever heard of Twitter. an e-mail account operated by withdrawal of your troops from stonning innocent girl,” a refer- the Shabab “Press Office” that “Is Twitter some sort of artil- our country or you shall receive ence to the Shabab’s penchant for routinely provides detailed — lery that the Shabab is going to the bodies of your remaining harsh Islamic punishments like though slanted — information fire?” asked Muktar Abdi, a taxi sons delivered to you in bags. stoning. about the continuing combat be- driver. He said he had heard The Shabab have teased Major tween the Shabab and the Afri- Think long. Think hard.” something like that on the radio. Chirchir for his spelling mistakes can Union peacekeepers. Some- Afyare Elmi, a Somali political It is clear that the Shabab, by and have tossed around some times, the Shabab’s information scientist teaching at Qatar Uni- posting comments in English, are SAT-quality words. is more truthful than the African versity, said the Shabab had a trying to appeal to people outside “Stop prevaricating & say what Union’s, as was the case during more coherent communication Somalia. And it may be working. you really think, Major!” the Sha- an intense recent battle in Soma- strategy than the Transitional As of Wednesday afternoon, lia’s capital, Mogadishu, in which Federal Government of Somalia, the Shabab Twitter account had Mohammed Ibrahim contributed the Shabab claimed to have killed a weak and fractured entity that 3,186 followers. And true to their reporting from Mogadishu, Soma- scores of peacekeepers, while the controls very little territory and guerrilla spirit, the Shabab follow lia. African Union initially said it had often contradicts itself in public no one. “Your inexperienced boys flee from confrontation & flinch in the face of death,” the Shabab wrote in a post to the Kenyan Army. It is an odd, almost downright hypocritical move from brutal militants in one of world’s most broken- down countries, where millions of people do not have enough food to eat, let alone a laptop. The Shabab have vehemently rejected Western practices — banning Western music, movies, haircuts and bras, and even blocking Western aid for famine victims, all in the name of their brand of puritanical Islam — only to embrace Twitter, one of the icons of a modern, networked society. On top of that, the Shabab clearly have their hands full right now, facing thousands of African Union peacekeepers, the Kenyan military, the Ethiopian military and the occasional American drone strike all at the same time. But terrorism experts say that Twitter terrorism is part of an emerging trend and that several other Qae- da franchises — a few years ago the Shabab pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda — are increasingly using social media like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter.

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