Challenges to National DRM Systems: Analyzing the Reactions of Al-Shabaab’s 2022 Attack on Hormuud Telecom in Somalia

The study examines the challenges terrorismTerrorism poses to Somali Disaster Risk ManagementDisaster Risk Management/Disaster Risk Reduction (DRM) systems via a thorough analysis of reactions to al-Shabaab’sAl-Shabaab 2022 attack on Hormuud Telecom in SomaliaHormuud Telecom, Somalia. Besides interviews conducted with peacekeepers and NGO workers by the authors, the paper scrutinizes the tweets of the online community following al-Shabaab’sAl-Shabaab most recent attack on Hormuud TelecomHormuud Telecom, Somalia. It is the largest telecommunicationsTelecommunication company in Somalia, which claimed that Kenyans were involved in the bombing and destruction of its telecommunicationTelecommunication towers. With that a game of tit-for-tat began and every time damage was inflicted on a Hormuud TelecomHormuud Telecom, Somalia mast, the company would retaliate by targeting a tower which belonged to Safaricom, the leading telecommunicationsTelecommunication provider in Kenya. While the Kenya Defense Forces, an armed government body, assisted in the destruction of the Somali masts, it appears the Kenyan communication towers were toppled by al-ShabaabAl-Shabaab, a terrorist organization allegedly financed by Hormuud Telecom. In case of disagreements, however, al-ShabaabAl-Shabaab seems to be turning against their own sponsor. It shows that the group is not to be trusted and collaborated with. Instead, the capacities of the Somali government must be strengthened so that it could manage and respond to terrorist threats. Not only international, but regional approaches are needed, bringing governments closer together and facilitating the transfer of knowledge and a better understanding of best practice in DRM.