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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Somali executed for 'apostasy' | Somali executed for 'apostasy' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An Islamist militia has executed a Somali politician who they accused of changing his religion by working with non-Muslim Ethiopian forces. | An Islamist militia has executed a Somali politician who they accused of changing his religion by working with non-Muslim Ethiopian forces. |
| An Islamist spokesman in the port of Kismayo told the BBC that Abdirahman Ahmed was shot dead on Thursday. | An Islamist spokesman in the port of Kismayo told the BBC that Abdirahman Ahmed was shot dead on Thursday. |
| Mr Ahmed had worked with Kismayo's former warlord - the MP Barre Hiraale - who is accused of attempting to retake the city with Ethiopian backing. | Mr Ahmed had worked with Kismayo's former warlord - the MP Barre Hiraale - who is accused of attempting to retake the city with Ethiopian backing. |
| He is believed to be the first politician executed by the Islamists. | He is believed to be the first politician executed by the Islamists. |
| Ethiopian forces are pulling out of Somalia, two years after they intervened to try to oust Islamists from the capital Mogadishu. | Ethiopian forces are pulling out of Somalia, two years after they intervened to try to oust Islamists from the capital Mogadishu. |
| But their mission to prop up the interim government is widely regarded as a failure as various Islamist group have recently advanced and once more control much of the country. | But their mission to prop up the interim government is widely regarded as a failure as various Islamist group have recently advanced and once more control much of the country. |
| A group of hardline Islamists retook the coastal city of Kismayo last August. | A group of hardline Islamists retook the coastal city of Kismayo last August. |
| Islamist authorities in the city stoned a 12-year-old girl to death for adultery in November, although her aunt said she had been raped. | Islamist authorities in the city stoned a 12-year-old girl to death for adultery in November, although her aunt said she had been raped. |
| In Mogadishu, thousands of people have gathered at the football stadium, a former Ethiopian base, to celebrate the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces. | |
| Talks about power-sharing between moderate Islamists and the government earlier resumed in neighbouring Djibouti. | Talks about power-sharing between moderate Islamists and the government earlier resumed in neighbouring Djibouti. |
| 'Denied body' | 'Denied body' |
| Relatives of Abdirahman Ahmed - also known as Waldiire - told the BBC he did not have a lawyer present during his trial in a Sharia court. | Relatives of Abdirahman Ahmed - also known as Waldiire - told the BBC he did not have a lawyer present during his trial in a Sharia court. |
| They say he was arrested about a week ago and they were informed of his death sentence on Thursday morning. | They say he was arrested about a week ago and they were informed of his death sentence on Thursday morning. |
| Different Islamist groups now control much of the countrySheikh Hassan Yakub - the spokesman for Kismayo's Islamist administration - told the BBC's Somali Service that Mr Ahmed had admitted during his interrogation that he worked with those backed by Ethiopia. | Different Islamist groups now control much of the countrySheikh Hassan Yakub - the spokesman for Kismayo's Islamist administration - told the BBC's Somali Service that Mr Ahmed had admitted during his interrogation that he worked with those backed by Ethiopia. |
| This, he said, was the basis for the court's opinion that he had changed his religion. | This, he said, was the basis for the court's opinion that he had changed his religion. |
| The relatives said they had asked the authorities to allow Mr Ahmed to go into exile. | The relatives said they had asked the authorities to allow Mr Ahmed to go into exile. |
| But he was executed after afternoon prayers on Thursday. | But he was executed after afternoon prayers on Thursday. |
| After the shooting, his brother pleaded to be able to bury his body, however, he was told the burial had already been done. | After the shooting, his brother pleaded to be able to bury his body, however, he was told the burial had already been done. |
| Mr Ahmed used to be the spokesman for the Jubba Valley Alliance - one of the factions which battled for control of Somalia during the 1990s. | Mr Ahmed used to be the spokesman for the Jubba Valley Alliance - one of the factions which battled for control of Somalia during the 1990s. |
| Earlier this month, Mr Hiraale and his fighters took some towns from the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab in Gedo region, north of Kismayo. | Earlier this month, Mr Hiraale and his fighters took some towns from the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab in Gedo region, north of Kismayo. |
| Observers at the time said Mr Hiraale was being armed by the withdrawing Ethiopian troops - an allegation he denied. | Observers at the time said Mr Hiraale was being armed by the withdrawing Ethiopian troops - an allegation he denied. |
| Al-Shabab is on the US list of terrorist groups. | Al-Shabab is on the US list of terrorist groups. |