Islamist Al-Shabaab rebels

SOMALIA: PUNTLAND COURT SENTENCES AL SHABAB MEMBERS TO DEATH

April 14, 2012: A court in Bosasso town, the commercial hub of Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, sentenced four men to death after alleging they were Al Shabab members in Puntland and carrying out assassinations in the region, RBC Radio reports.
“After hearing the case against Ahmed Mahdi Muse 23, Keyse Ahmed Aden 20, Mumin Mohamed Awale 19 and Tawakal Omar Darfure 18 and found them guilty of murder charges, the court sentences the four to death.” The court judge Sheikh Aden Aw-Ahmed announced as the security of the court was highly tightened.
The court also sentenced 10 years in jail to other three young men accused of assisting Al Shabab elements and two were sentenced to three years imprison but they were allowed to appeal against the judgment.
Meanwhile the case against two other suspects was postponed due to insufficient evidence, the charge said.
The ruling of Bosasso court came as Puntland president Abdurahman Mohamed Farole said last week that senior Al Shabab leaders were flocking to Golis Mountains in the southwest of Bosasso after fleeing from southern Somalia regions. Al Shabab officials also declared they were regrouping inside Puntland to step up jihad operations in Puntland. (Sources: RBC Radio, 14/04/2012)