Images posted by Al-Urwa Al-Wuthqa Media, Boko Haram's media wing, purporting to show child soldiers being trained
Twitter has suspended an account purportedly set up by Boko Haram, the Nigerian terrorist group causing havoc in the country’s north, which it had used to post pictures of child soldiers in training.
Pictures have also been posted on the account to suggest Boko Haram, which means “Western Education is Sinful”, was actively training child soldiers, a tactic borrowed from conflicts in other parts of Africa.
The account, @Alurwa_Alwuthqa, was set up on January 18 as part of what is believed to be a bid to mimic the successful PR and recruitment campaigns of groups like al-Shabaab in Somalia and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Within days, it had gained 4,000 followers and on January 25, announced in Arabic the capture of Monguno, a strategic town close to Maiduguri, the state capital of Borno province and Boko Haram’s birthplace.
Pictures have also been posted on the account to suggest Boko Haram, which means “Western Education is Sinful”, was actively training child soldiers, a tactic borrowed from conflicts in other parts of Africa.
They showed children as young as ten dressed in dark robes, training in military formation and holding AK-47 assault rifles.
"Photo of Cubs nation,” the caption reads. “Generation of conquest and victory, God willing."
The profile also posted a link to a video interview with Abu Mus'ab Al barnawi, who is said to be the group’s spokesman, in which he discussed the capture of Baga, the village where an estimated 2,000 civilians were killed.
A second video showed an interview with a group of Boko Haram fighters, explaining their motivation.
There has been intense speculation online about whether the account was genuine, since others set up previously have proved to be fake. However, the suspension of the account by Twitter boosted claims that it was.
The US State Department also lent credibility to the claims by tweeting a photo of the purported child soldiers, writing: “Amid its massacres of innocents, Boko Haram running training camps for child soldiers."
The videos posted to the account, if genuine, reflect a growing sophistication in Boko Haram’s publicity machine, which previously was limited to disseminating shaky clips showing the group’s leader Abubakabar Shekau flanked by arms-laden pick-up trucks and ranting in rudimentary Arabic.
Some of the children look as young as ten years old
Across the continent, al-Shabaab in Somalia has some prolific tweeters in its ranks, with several British-born jihadis thoughts to be among them, and live-tweeted the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall before its account was shut down by Twitter.
Isil already has proved similarly fluent in social media, posting videos, pictures and messages on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, using hashtags to tap into popular searches. Social media monitors suggest that its PR campaign is gaining results, with hundreds of thousands of online accounts discussing the group.
In response, the head of GCHQ has accused social media websites of helping terror groups and called for closer ties with intelligence agencies.
Ryan Cummings, chief Africa analyst for Red 24, a crisis management firm, said the Twitter account appeared to be just one outlet in a “media network” launched by Boko Haram in mid-January through trusted jihadi channels also used by Isil.
He said the interviews reflected a desire to dispel the notion that Boko Haram was killing indiscriminately, and emphasised the group's Islamic credentials.
“It does seem very legitimate and until it was shut down, offered some very interesting insights into the operations and methodology of the organisation,” he said.
“The fact that there was no mention of Abubakabar Shekau, for example, suggests a new degree of factionalism, and the strengthening of links with groups like Isil which is something he never supported.”
Source- Telegraph
"Photo of Cubs nation,” the caption reads. “Generation of conquest and victory, God willing."
The profile also posted a link to a video interview with Abu Mus'ab Al barnawi, who is said to be the group’s spokesman, in which he discussed the capture of Baga, the village where an estimated 2,000 civilians were killed.
A second video showed an interview with a group of Boko Haram fighters, explaining their motivation.
There has been intense speculation online about whether the account was genuine, since others set up previously have proved to be fake. However, the suspension of the account by Twitter boosted claims that it was.
The US State Department also lent credibility to the claims by tweeting a photo of the purported child soldiers, writing: “Amid its massacres of innocents, Boko Haram running training camps for child soldiers."
The videos posted to the account, if genuine, reflect a growing sophistication in Boko Haram’s publicity machine, which previously was limited to disseminating shaky clips showing the group’s leader Abubakabar Shekau flanked by arms-laden pick-up trucks and ranting in rudimentary Arabic.
Some of the children look as young as ten years old
Across the continent, al-Shabaab in Somalia has some prolific tweeters in its ranks, with several British-born jihadis thoughts to be among them, and live-tweeted the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall before its account was shut down by Twitter.
Isil already has proved similarly fluent in social media, posting videos, pictures and messages on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, using hashtags to tap into popular searches. Social media monitors suggest that its PR campaign is gaining results, with hundreds of thousands of online accounts discussing the group.
In response, the head of GCHQ has accused social media websites of helping terror groups and called for closer ties with intelligence agencies.
Ryan Cummings, chief Africa analyst for Red 24, a crisis management firm, said the Twitter account appeared to be just one outlet in a “media network” launched by Boko Haram in mid-January through trusted jihadi channels also used by Isil.
He said the interviews reflected a desire to dispel the notion that Boko Haram was killing indiscriminately, and emphasised the group's Islamic credentials.
“It does seem very legitimate and until it was shut down, offered some very interesting insights into the operations and methodology of the organisation,” he said.
“The fact that there was no mention of Abubakabar Shekau, for example, suggests a new degree of factionalism, and the strengthening of links with groups like Isil which is something he never supported.”
Source- Telegraph
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