FALSE: This image showing individuals blindfolded in Mogadishu’s Darusalam isn’t from 2024

The image was initially published in January 2013. 

This post on Facebook with an image claiming that a group of people was humiliated during security operations in May 2024 in Mogadishu, is FALSE.

The photo shows a group of blindfolded individuals sitting on the ground.

The captioned Somali text on the image reads:: “Team Rati Weyne was humiliated this morning. You said Darussalam belongs to us, so let that help you.”

Darulsalaam  is a district  in the outskirts of Mogadishu. In May 2024, Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud officially recognized Darusalam, Gubadlay,  and Garasbalay,  as official districts in the Banadir region. 

To verify the authenticity of the image, Puntland Mirror performed a Google reverse image search and established that the image was initially published in January 2013.

News from Somalia reported that the image was captured during a security operation in Mogadishu in January 2013.

The image was also published by Somalia’s Keymedia who reported in Somali language that: “Somali security forces arrested many people in a large-scale operation in Mogadishu”.

Puntland Mirror examined a Facebook post  claiming that a group of people was humiliated during security operations in May 2024 in Mogadishu and found it to be FALSE.

This fact-check was produced by Puntland Mirror  under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).