Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Somalis ‘made to view executions’ (BBC)
Hundreds of people in Somalia have been forced to watch Islamist militants executing two people accused of spying.
People in Merca said al-Shabab militia patrolled the town with loudspeakers, demanding they attend the executions.
The militants also ordered schools to close for the day as they were keen for children to watch the two men being shot dead by a firing squad.
Most of those at the execution, on a patch of open ground, are reported to have been women and children.
It is becoming something of a pattern for al-Shabab to encourage young people to engage in violence.
It recently organised a quiz for young men in the southern town of Kismayo.
The prizes included AK-47 assault rifles, hand grenades and anti-tank mines.
