Photo: Credit Netblocks
Internet connectivity across much of southern Somalia has been cut off on Sunday, according to local residents and an independent group that investigates digital rights, cyber-security and internet governance.
Netbooks said that their network data recorded that the internet was cut at 10:30 am local time, with most of Mogadishu offline. The internet cutoff comes just one day after Somalia’s parliament removed Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire by a vote of no-confidence. Somalia’s main international partners, the U.S. and the European Union have both criticized the move as unhelpful in a fragile political environment.
Netblocks says that a preliminary analysis of the sub-sea cable networks shows that the disconnect was not a result of an accidental cut, suggesting that the service cut was intentional. “The ongoing incident has nation-scale impact consistent with an intentional blackout affecting cellular and fixed-line networks, and is not attributed to any international issue, technical outage or cyber-attack.”
In a statement, Hormuud, Somalia’s largest telecom service provider, offered a different explanation. Hormuud said that windy conditions on the Indian ocean caused the blackout. “We regret to inform you that our internet service has been interrupted since around 10:00 am EAT. Our early assessments suggest that the submarine cable sustained a shunt fault after windy conditions caused Somali shores of the Indian Ocean to become very rough and turbulent. It added that maintenance crews are working to restore connectivity.
The Internet advocacy group said that their data shows this is unprecedented in Somalia.