Cable Sabotage?

When we reported on the Mediterranean cable that was cut that put out all internet and most television and phone communications for much of the Middle East and Asia, at the time the incident was considered an accident, possibly caused by the anchor of an oil freighter. And while that was confirmed, now however, authorities are suspecting sabotage.

Why? Because five other undersea cables have been cut in just one week making communications companies and authorities that regulate it to start looking at an organized effort to disrupt the flow of communications between Middle Eastern States and the Asian countries surrounding it. The disruptions of the Internet and international telephone lines between Egypt, the Arab Gulf States and most of South Asia has, once again, crippled commerce, hurt economies and slowed government communications.

Repair to the cables (2 off the coast of Egypt & 3 in the Persian Gulf area) began immediately and most comm and Internet lines were back up and running on Monday morning.

While natural or accidental man-made causes cannot be totally ruled out, due to the volatility of the region, terror group sabotage must be considered near the top of the list of reasons.

“So many incidents happening in one region — whether it is a coincidence is a moot question,” R.S Perhar, secretary of the Internet Service Providers’ Assn. of India said. “The coincidence of so many cables snapping does raise doubts about why this is happening. It needs to be answered.”