« Bangladesh: Nine Suspected Islamists Arrested |
| Indonesia: Muslim Mayor Bans Short Skirts In South Sulawesi »
July 9, 2006
Somalia: Islamists Publicly Flog Teenage Boys
Somalinet reports that yesterday in the town of Jowhar, 55 miles north of Mogadishu, eleven teenage youths were subjected to a public flogging of 40 lashes each.
The incident happened in a public square and has put fear into residents. The district attorney of Jowhar, Sheikh Mohamoud said: "Some of the lashed teenagers have been alleged with looting while others have been caught in the act of using hashish....All of them confessed the charges"
This is the first incidence of public scourging to have happened since the Islamists gained control of Mogadishu, effectively defeating the Warlords who previously controlled the southern region, on June 5.
We reported on June 27 that Siyad Mohamed, a militia leader connected to the Union of Islamic Courts had announced that "Five men who raped four women on June 22 will be stoned to death today in accordance with the Islamic sharia. They have pleaded guilty to the crime and also have been identified by the victims." The five males will be publicly stoned in Jowhar.
In other news, Agence France Presse via the Daily Star and Somalinet there has been fierce fighting today in a gunbattle between Ismamic militia and militia supportive of Colonel Abdi Hassan Awale Qeydiid in Mogadishu.
At least twenty-one people have been killed, and 40 other injured. Qeydiid had not agreed to surrender his territory and weaponry to the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia on June 5. Several of the dead and injured are civilians.
Islamist militia claimed to have captured three "battlewagons" (pickup trucks with gun-mountings) and Qeyiid's supporters have claimed to have set fire to three battlewagons belonging to the militia.
The fighting is in breach of the peace agreement which was signed in Sudan on June 22.
Earlier in southwestern Mogadishu, at Dharkenley district, Islamists attacked militia loyal to Hussien Mohamed Aideed, another warlord who has not fully surrendered power to the Islamists, and took control of the police station.
An eyewitness said: "The fighting happened in Hosh area of Dharkenley district at around 5:20 local time this morning with both rival sides exchanged all sorts of weapons."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at July 9, 2006 4:47 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)