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| Somalis watch double amputations | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Hardline Islamists in Somalia have carried out double amputations on four men for stealing phones and guns. | Hardline Islamists in Somalia have carried out double amputations on four men for stealing phones and guns. |
| They have each had a hand and foot cut off after being convicted by a Sharia court in the capital earlier this week. | They have each had a hand and foot cut off after being convicted by a Sharia court in the capital earlier this week. |
| More then 300 people, mainly women and children, watched as masked men cut off their limbs with a machete. | More then 300 people, mainly women and children, watched as masked men cut off their limbs with a machete. |
| The four men reportedly admitted to the robberies, but were not represented by a lawyer and were not allowed to appeal against their sentence. | The four men reportedly admitted to the robberies, but were not represented by a lawyer and were not allowed to appeal against their sentence. |
| The al-Shabab group, which controls much of southern Somalia, has carried out amputations, floggings and an execution in the southern port of Kismayo but such punishments are rare in the capital. | The al-Shabab group, which controls much of southern Somalia, has carried out amputations, floggings and an execution in the southern port of Kismayo but such punishments are rare in the capital. |
| 'Help, help, help!' one of them shouted Eyewitness Mohamed Abdi Hassan class="" href="/2/hi/africa/8057179.stm">Somali justice - Islamist-style | |
| The amputations were carried out in the open in front of an al-Shabab military camp in the north-east of Mogadishu. | The amputations were carried out in the open in front of an al-Shabab military camp in the north-east of Mogadishu. |
| A local resident said the four men cried out during and after the amputations. Each man had his right hand and left foot cut off. | A local resident said the four men cried out during and after the amputations. Each man had his right hand and left foot cut off. |
| "'Help, help, help!' one of them shouted," Mohamed Abdi Hassan told the BBC. | "'Help, help, help!' one of them shouted," Mohamed Abdi Hassan told the BBC. |
| Eyewitnesses estimate the age of the four men - Aden Mohamud, Ismail Khalif , Jeylani Mohamed, and Abdulkadir Adow - to be between 18 and 25. | Eyewitnesses estimate the age of the four men - Aden Mohamud, Ismail Khalif , Jeylani Mohamed, and Abdulkadir Adow - to be between 18 and 25. |
| Mr Hassan said the whole process took about an hour to complete. | Mr Hassan said the whole process took about an hour to complete. |
| Human rights lobby group Amnesty International had urged al-Shabab not to carry out the amputations after the men had been convicted on Monday. | |
| The punishments carried out in Kismayo have shocked many Somalis, who traditionally practise a more tolerant form of Islam than al-Shabab's strict Wahabi interpretation. | |
| President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, took office in January but even his introduction of Sharia law to the strongly Muslim country has not appeased the hardliners. | President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, took office in January but even his introduction of Sharia law to the strongly Muslim country has not appeased the hardliners. |
| The government has not carried out any amputations under its version of Sharia. | |
| Since 7 May, al-Shabab and its allies have been locked in ferocious battles with pro-government forces. | Since 7 May, al-Shabab and its allies have been locked in ferocious battles with pro-government forces. |
| The president has declared a state of emergency and has appealed to Somalia's neighbours to send troops to help. | The president has declared a state of emergency and has appealed to Somalia's neighbours to send troops to help. |