Somalia Blocks Al-Shabaab Accounts on Social Media  

Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 
Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 
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Somalia Blocks Al-Shabaab Accounts on Social Media  

Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 
Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Somalia’s government has escalated its war against the extremist al-Shabaab Movement by blocking dozens of its accounts on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Tiktok and YouTube.

Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf Adala revealed on Tuesday that more than 600 electronic pages for al-Shabaab will be deleted.

The ministries of information, communications, and internal security will impose this ban, Somali National News Agency SONNA quoted him as saying.

Adala pointed out that the government is following up the terrorist cells and their attempts to publish the group’s ideology and false news.

He affirmed that the terrorist militias have been suffering since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched the military offensive against the extremists.

Mohamud announced on Monday that soldiers training in Eritrea will return to Mogadishu in late December.

He made the remarks during his meeting with the Somali community in the US city of Minnesota.

Mohamud underscored the importance of the army in building the government and fighting the al-Shabaab militias, which are affiliated with al-Qaeda organization.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking al-Shabaab official and three other militants surrendered to the Somali National Forces in HirShabelle State on Monday.

The armed forces also arrested eight militants who were hiding in the liberated areas of the Middle Shabelle region.

The government said it is committed to care for those who abandoned the al-Shabaab’s ideology, as part of its fierce war against terrorists 



Philippines, US Hold Joint Maritime Drills in South China Sea 

The exercises involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. (EPA file)
The exercises involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. (EPA file)
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Philippines, US Hold Joint Maritime Drills in South China Sea 

The exercises involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. (EPA file)
The exercises involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. (EPA file)

Coast Guard vessels of the Philippines and the United States have taken part for the first time in joint maritime exercises with naval and air force units in the contested South China Sea, Manila's armed forces said on Wednesday.

The exercises, held on Tuesday in waters off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro, involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

The "maritime cooperative activity," which was the second for the year and sixth overall since the allies launched the joint activities in 2023, included communication drills and search-and-rescue scenarios, the military said in a statement.

"Joint activities like the MCA reaffirm the Armed Forces of the Philippines' commitment to modernizing its capabilities and strengthening defense partnerships to secure our national and regional maritime interests," AFP Chief Romeo Brawner said.

Relations between the Philippines and China have been strained by disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

China claims most of the strategic waterway despite a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that found Beijing's claims have no basis under international law. China does not recognize the decision.