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A Somali Islamist fighter from Hispul Islam patrols an empty street in Wardigkey, in Mogadishu - Source: Reuters
Armed rebel groups in Somalia are using the internet for
fundraising and recruitment, and they achieve better results
through the web than they do on the ground, a United Nations report
said.
The report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia also highlighted
how the rebels use the internet to spread information about making
bombs and religious rulings.
It cited a three-day, live fundraiser in May last year and another
online forum in March 2009 attended by senior members of al Shabaab
and Hizbul Islam, the two main rebel groups fighting the
Western-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
"Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam have regularly conducted joint forums,
achieving a greater degree of cooperation in cyberspace than they
do on the ground," the report said.
Al Shabaab launched a two-week online fundraiser for its fighters
in August 2009, which drew senior regional rebel leaders and
hundreds of participants in the Somali Diaspora, the report
said.
Forum participants made pledges totalling more than $US40,000
during the event at which the leaders told of the hardships facing
fighters and their families.
"The internet continues to play an important role in propaganda,
recruiting and fund-raising by Somali armed groups," the monitoring
group said.
Online fatwa
The most active al Shabaab online outlet is
www.alqimmah.net, established in
September 2007 and registered in Sweden.
The site is used to disseminate and produce the rebel group's
information material, making it an integral part of al Shabaab's
propaganda.
Last August it posted a 47-page religious ruling, or fatwa, against
the Djibouti peace process, which is aimed at putting together an
inclusive Somali government.
The fatwa has provided Somali rebel groups with religious
justification for waging war against the government of Somalia.
Alqimmah.net has also posted a link to a book entitled The
Science of Explosions and Explosives.
"The intention of the posting was apparently to make available to
Shabaab supporters and sympathizers knowledge pertinent to
bomb-making," the report said.
Al Shabaab is also using internet forums to highlight its
cooperation with foreign fighters who have joined its cause.
In one example, the proceedings of a ceremony to thank foreign
fighters, and reportedly, to celebrate the marriage of some 50 of
them to Somali women as a way to integrate them into Somali
society, were relayed to participants of an online forum.
"The message was unmistakably to assure potential foreign
volunteers that they could expect a similarly warm welcome if they
joined the cause," the report said.
Other sites used to disseminate materials by al Shabaab cited in
the report include somalimemo.com and ansarnet.info, while Hizbul
Islam has links with jabiso.net, somalimirror.com and cadaalada.com
and halgan.net.
Fast internet
Despite its internal turmoil Somalia boasts some of the fastest
internet connections in Africa.
"By 2005, when most of Africa was still putting this infrastructure
in place, Somalia, with the help of a huge Diaspora population,
developed the fastest and cheapest internet and
telecommunications," said Rashid Abdi, Somalia analyst with the
International Crisis Group.
Abdi described al Shabaab's use of the internet as an increasingly
common trend of "cyber-jihadism", which is difficult to
control.
He cautioned against restricting internet use in Somalia.
"I would not recommend cutting off Somalia's internet. It is just a catalyst not a root cause," he said, adding that it could also become a vehicle to help solve the conflict.
