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 



New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defense Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Reuters quoted Arndell as saying.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defense Force said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.”
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.
He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.
Defense Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defense personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue center, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.