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Court cuts off hands and feet in Somalia
Source: Agencies |
June 26, 2009, Friday
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A court in Somalia yesterday cut off a hand and foot of each of four men convicted of stealing phones and guns, drawing hundreds of onlookers as the weeping men were punished at a military camp.
The Shariah court that carried out the sentences is run by the powerful insurgent group al-Shabab, which is trying to topple Somalia's United Nations-backed government.
"The men were bleeding and crying when the man cut their hands and feet off with a long knife," said one witness, Liban Ali. Journalists were not allowed to cover the sentencing. The four were convicted earlier this week in the capital, Mogadishu.
The United States considers al-Shabab a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida, which al-Shabab denies. The group controls much of Somalia with the help of hundreds of foreign fighters.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when the overthrow of a dictatorship plunged the country into chaos. A surge in violence in recent weeks, which diplomats said is a major push by the insurgents to force the government out of its Mogadishu strongholds, has killed about 225 people.
Last week, the national security minister and Mogadishu's police chief were among those killed.
The country's lawlessness has spread security fears and raised concerns that al-Qaida is trying to gain a foothold in the Horn of Africa.
Somali lawmakers pleaded this weekend for immediate international military intervention from countries including Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti to help quash the insurgency. But there was no indication reinforcements would be forthcoming.
The Shariah court that carried out the sentences is run by the powerful insurgent group al-Shabab, which is trying to topple Somalia's United Nations-backed government.
"The men were bleeding and crying when the man cut their hands and feet off with a long knife," said one witness, Liban Ali. Journalists were not allowed to cover the sentencing. The four were convicted earlier this week in the capital, Mogadishu.
The United States considers al-Shabab a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida, which al-Shabab denies. The group controls much of Somalia with the help of hundreds of foreign fighters.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when the overthrow of a dictatorship plunged the country into chaos. A surge in violence in recent weeks, which diplomats said is a major push by the insurgents to force the government out of its Mogadishu strongholds, has killed about 225 people.
Last week, the national security minister and Mogadishu's police chief were among those killed.
The country's lawlessness has spread security fears and raised concerns that al-Qaida is trying to gain a foothold in the Horn of Africa.
Somali lawmakers pleaded this weekend for immediate international military intervention from countries including Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti to help quash the insurgency. But there was no indication reinforcements would be forthcoming.
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