Serious doubts over Time magazine's claim to have interviewed Al-Shabab leader
| Speculation is rife about a helicopter attack that targeted Al Shabab in Marka, a city near Mogadishu. There are several versions of what happened, but there are few things we know: 1) there was such attack 2) there was high level Al shabab member closeby 3) the attack failed and that's why no one is claiming (though the US carried similar attacks before). But what caught my attention was Time magazine's improbable claim that they have interviewed Mukhtar Godane, the Amir or leader of Al-Shabab. This is a man who reclusive and secretive even by Al Shabab standards, and gives no media interviews - a Mullah Omar of sorts. So for the man not to only give an interview but to choose to speak to Time magazine is very difficult to believe. In fact, I say it's certain that no such interview took place. Last week a Somali website, Somaliweyn.com, had a picture on their page they claimed to be Godane's, again people who'd met him say it isn't him. It's understandable that there's obsession with reaching leaders like Mukhtar Godane, Mullah Omar or OBL but if you can't get them you shouldn't make up an interview. It's dangerous to report from Somalia so Western media outlets like Time rely on fixers, often young Somalis with little journalism training (I know, so American journos made up stories too) who send information that's often difficult to verify. But I wonder how much checking Time did at all. Update 1: There are other reasons for my skepticism about the interview. For example, the article repeats speculations about Al-Shabab internal struggle almost word for word from other sources. For example, the government published a propaganda statement about how it's pushing back Al Shabab because of their in-fighting. There were a lot of similar speculations in the Somali media but little substance. This is another reason for my doubts: The Time's interview claims that Al Shabab leader told them they were meeting to solve a dispute between him and his deputy. Al Shabab are very secrative about their internal affairs so for the top leader to volunteer such information is hard to believe. Update 2: Abu Mansour, the deputy leader of Al Shabab denied that there is any dispute between him and Godane. The clip of his denial is in VOA Somali (in Somali). More on this in English from Mogadishu Man blog. In the sermon Abu Mansour says there is no dispute at all within the ranks of Al Shabab. I think Time needs to retract and apologize for this fabricated interview. Labels: al-shabab, fiction, godane, interview, journalism, shabab, Somalia, time |



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