Al-Shabaab targets billboard with non-Arabic scripts

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Al-Shabaab targets billboard with non-Arabic scripts

 

Al-Shabaab militants Wednesday destroyed advertisement boards with non-Arabic scripts at Eelasha Biyaha area, south of Mogadishu.

 

The area is home to most people who fled the war in the Somali capital.

 

The masked fighters stated that businesses in the affected area were ordered to remove English and Somali literature from their boards by 30th of the Muslim Month of Shawal, that coincides with September 28.

 

Failure to comply with the order landed at least 12 prominent traders in al-Shabaab custody, according to residents who contacted Kulmiye, a popular broadcaster in Mogadishu.

 

“The hostility against the merchants who resisted removing English and Somali scripts instils fear in the business community,” said a resident who wanted his identity protected for safety reasons..

 

The order to use Arabic only on the sign boards was given last week but appeared unpopular.

 

Other recent unpopular measures by al-Shabaab at Eelasha Biyaha area include the removal of the Somali flag from schools and its replacement with the Islamist movement’s black banner.

 

 

Meanwhile, over 100 families with scant belongings arrived in South Mogadishu on Monday. The large group settled at the former Somali National University Campus and the former Kabka factory, between the main bases of the Burundian contingent of the African Union peacekeepers.

 

The choice was influenced by security reasons and availability of open space.

 

Soruce:Africareview