Several Twitter accounts suspended in connection with Kenya attack

Several Twitter accounts claiming responsibility for the attack on a Nairobi shopping mall have been suspended after providing running commentary of the attack via the social network.

The 36-hour siege, which has left 68 people dead and several injured, began on Saturday. The terrorists have demanded that Kenya pull troops out of its northern neighbour Somalia, “where they have pushed al-Shabab onto the defensive over the past two years,” reports Reuters.

Since the start of the hostage situation, the Twitter accounts claiming to belong to al-Shabab have been tweeting support for the terrorists. The accounts, @HSMPress, @HSMPress1 and @HSM_Press, appear to belong to the Somalia-based organisation with al-Qaeda links.

According to Twitter’s terms of use accounts can be blocked “for any unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities”.

According to a report by the Telegraph, the accounts were “glorifying the militants, taunting the Kenyan security forces, and justifying their actions”.

With tweets like these:

“The Mujahideen entered #Westgate Mall today at around noon and are still inside the mall, fighting the #Kenyan Kuffar (infidels) inside their own turf,” the account tweeted on Saturday evening.

“The attack at Westgate Mall is just a very tiny fraction of what Muslims in Somalia experience at the hands of Kenyan invaders.”

The group seem quite determined to use social media to make their voices heard, creating new accounts when others were suspended. Another of the group’s accounts (@HSM_PressOffice), which has since also been suspended, carried on tweeting where the others had left off:

“#Westgate: a 14-hour standoff relayed in 1400 rounds of bullets and 140 characters of vengeance and still ongoing. Good morning Kenya!” the group posted.

“It’s slowly approaching the 24-hour mark – the darkest 24 hours in Nairobi – highlighting the sheer fragility of the Kenyan nation.”

“The Mujahideen are still firmly in control of the situation inside Westgate Mall. Negotiation is out of the question!”

“We’ll not negotiate with the Kenyan govt as long as its forces are invading our country, so reap the bitter fruits of your harvest #Westgate.”

“More than 30 hours have now passed and, like rabbits caught in the headlights, Kenyans are still shell-shocked. #Westgate.”

According to the Telegraph report:

Shabab have been avid users of Twitter since September 2011. At the time, the move onto Twitter was seen as an attempt to counter the widespread message of Kenya’s military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir, who uses his own Twitter account to highlight the government forces’ success in battling Shabab to his almost 50,000 followers.