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SOMALIA: FANS EXECUTED FOR WATCHING WORLD CUP
June 14, 2010: Somali Islamist militants executed two football fans and arrested dozens of others for breaking a ban on watching the World Cup, Reuters reported.
Gunmen from the Hizbul Islam group swooped on homes in the Afgoi district, 19 miles south of the capital Mogadishu.
Ali Yasin Gedi, vice-chairman of the Elman rights group, said that "Islamists unexpectedly entered houses in Afgoi district and fired (at) some people who tried to jump over the wall to escape." Their crackdown came after Islamist groups had banned Somalis from watching World Cup matches on TV.
Rebel hardliners say that watching football is "un-Islamic" and that it distracts citizens from their duty to overthrow the troubled east African country's government. (Sources: The Australian, 16/06/2010)
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