... the personification of Somali state failure...
on Wednesday banned citizens in the areas of Somalia they control from using the Internet.
They gave all communication companies providing web services a 15-day ultimatum to shut down their operations.
"Any company or individual that is found ignoring the call will be considered to be working with the enemy and they will be dealt with in accordance to the Sharia" or Islamic law, the statement which was posted on pro-Shabaab websites added.
The bully boyz impose strict laws in the zones under their control and frequently arrest people on suspicion of "spying."
The Internet is widely used in Somalia, which has been wracked by civil war for more than two decades, with the Shabaab considered the biggest obstacle to peace.
The Shabaab once controlled most of southern and central Somalia but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago.
African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
troops -- including large contingents from Uganda, Kenya and Burundi -- have since recaptured a series of bully boy bastions and tried to prop up Somalia's fledgling government forces.
But a string of devastating Shabaab attacks against foreign and government targets have shattered hopes of a rebirth for the war-ravaged capital and demonstrated that the Islamist outfit's disruptive power is undiminished.