MOGADISHU: Somalia’s government announced Sunday a ban on social media platforms TikTok and Telegram and an online betting app, saying they were being used by “terrorists” to spread propaganda.
The move comes ahead of a much anticipated second phase of a military offensive against Al-Shabab, the Islamist militant group that has been waging a bloody insurgency against the central government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years.
In a statement, the ministry of communications and technology ordered Internet service providers to implement the ban by August 24 or face unspecified legal action.
“In a bid to accelerate the war and elimination of the terrorists who have shed the blood of the Somali people, the minister of communication and technology instructs companies that provide Internet services to suspend TikTok, Telegram and 1XBET betting applications, which terrorists and groups responsible for spreading immorality use to spread graphic clips, photos and mislead society.”
The army has been waging an offensive against the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabab in central Somalia since August last year, joining forces with local clan militias in an operation backed by African Union troops and US air strikes.
Al-Shabab fighters were driven from the capital Mogadishu in 2011 but still control swathes of countryside and continue to wage deadly strikes on civilian, political and military targets despite the government offensive.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to rid the troubled Horn of Africa country of the jihadists and is expected to announce shortly a second phase of the offensive against them in southern Somalia.
Somalia orders ban on TikTok, Telegram
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Somalia orders ban on TikTok, Telegram
- Move comes ahead of a much anticipated second phase of a military offensive against Al-Shabab
US designates Afghanistan as ‘state sponsor of wrongful detention’
- “The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio says
WASHINGTON, United States: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday he has designated Afghanistan as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” demanding Taliban authorities release two Americans and commit to ending its “hostage diplomacy.”
The move comes just over a week after Iran became the first country added to Washington’s new “wrongful detention” blacklist.
President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order that created the blacklist, similar to designations by the United States on terrorism.
“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio said in a statement.
He said it was “not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.”
“The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever,” he added.
Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.
He was arrested in August 2022 in Kabul along with dozens of other employees of his telecommunications company, according to US authorities.
The State Department has issued a reward of $5 million for information leading to Habibi’s return.
Coyle is an academic from Colorado who worked for two decades in Afghanistan before being detained in January 2025, according to the James Foley Foundation.
