The Al-Qaeda linked militant group Al-Shabaab have imposed restrictions on Hormuud, the largest telecommunication company in Somalia.
The militants have reportdly shut down numerous branch offices and antennas owned by Hormuud located inside Al-Shabaab controlled territory.
This has led to hundreds of thousands of customers losing mobile service and cutting them off from the vital mobile money service dubbed EVC.
The schism between Al-Shabaab and Hormuud is said to be the result of Al-Shabaab opposing the Hormuud owned Salaam Somali Bank (SSB) being used to facilitate funds for the government in order to pay government troops.
Hormuud has so far refused Al-Shabaab’s demand to cease facilitating government payments to soldiers in the military, which has sparked a strong0armed response by Al-Shabaab to halt Hormuud activities in the areas that they govern.
As of yet, neither Hormuud, Al-Shabaab and the Federal Government are yet to address these latest developments.
Daljir News Desk
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