Living in a highly regulated country can be restricting. People of Somalia will have to learn the hard way, as they are hit with social media gagging over the government’s fears.
Somalia’s government has banned social media sites TikTok and Telegram, as well as an online betting app.
Instituting the ban on Sunday, the government claimed that they were being used by “terrorists” to promote propaganda.
The move comes ahead of the much-anticipated second phase of a military offensive against Al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab is an Islamist militant group that has waged a brutal insurgency against Mogadishu’s central authority for more than 15 years.
The ministry of communications and technology issued a statement ordering internet service providers to enforce the ban by August 24 or risk unspecified legal action.
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“In order to expedite the war and eliminate terrorists who have shed the blood of the Somali people, the Minister of Communication and Technology instructs internet service providers to suspend TikTok.
“He included Telegram, and 1XBET betting apps, which terrorists and groups responsible for spreading immorality use to spread graphic clips, photos, and mislead society,” the statement read.
Since August last year, the army has been launching an attack against the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab in central Somalia, teaming forces with local clan militias in an operation backed by African Union troops and US air strikes.
Despite the government offensive, al-Shabaab fighters still control large swaths of the countryside and continue to carry out deadly attacks on civilian, political, and military targets.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to clear the unstable Horn of Africa country of jihadists, and a second phase of the attack against them in southern Somalia is scheduled to be announced soon.
