Kenya News: Twitter updates on Somalia conflict

NAIROBI, Kenya — The difficulties and dangers of actually going to the places in southern Somalia where the fighting is apparently happening mean that the war is happening in a bell jar.

Right now some of the fastest information is coming via Twitter where both the Kenyan military spokesman (@MajorEChirchir) and the Shabaab press office (@HSMPress) have feeds. They frequently contradict one another but share a tendency towards outdated and florid language.

The Shabaab is not the first Islamist insurgent group to take to Twitter (the Taliban has had one since early last year) but as Slate points out it's the first to draw the attention of US authorities who are reportedly considering shutting it down.