[ad_1]
Mogadishu: Somalia’s authorities introduced Saturday a crackdown on media retailers that publish what it deems propaganda for the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab and warned that offenders can be punished.
The transfer comes as Somalia’s armed forces, backed by native militias and worldwide allies, wage an aggressive counter-insurgency in opposition to the Al-Qaeda affiliate.
“I need to inform the Somali media and all Somali individuals generally that we’ll regard all Al-Shabaab associated propaganda protection together with their terrorist acts and their ideology as punishable crimes,” Deputy Info Minister Abdirahman Yusuf mentioned.
“The Somali authorities is completely banning all types of protection regarding the terrorist ideology and acts of intimidation by (Al Shabaab),” he instructed reporters at a press convention within the capital Mogadishu.
“Their audio clips, video clips, photographs, and messages can’t be disseminated.”
Yusuf mentioned the federal government has additionally launched cyber operations in opposition to “terrorist accounts” on social media and had disabled greater than 40 on platforms similar to Fb and Twitter up to now 48 hours.
“Different on-line sources like functions and web sites which terrorists use to unfold their messages may even be traced and suspended accordingly,” he added.
Yusuf insisted it was not a query of clamping down on free speech and later instructed AFP the measures wouldn’t have an effect on regular information protection about Al-Shabaab by journalists in Somalia.
Somalia’s not too long ago elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed an all-out struggle on the jihadists after a string of lethal assaults, together with a 30-hour lodge siege within the capital Mogadishu in August that killed 21 individuals.
Fighters from the group had been ousted from Mogadishu in 2011 however they proceed to strike army, authorities and civilian targets, typically with lethal penalties.
[ad_2]
Source link
