An Islamist rebel is pictured in April 2012 near Timbuktu

MALI: ISLAMISTS EXECUTE ALLEGED MURDERER IN TIMBUKTU

October 2, 2012: Islamists who have seized control of northern Mali publicly executed a man accused of murder, witnesses told AFP by phone from the city of Timbuktu.
The man - Moussa Agh Mohammed - was executed by firing squad at around 5:30 pm in a space between two municipal buildings in the ancient city, witnesses said.
"I saw him fall after the shots were fired," one witness said.
A city council member who also saw the execution confirmed the report and said a crowd of some 100 people had attended.
A third witness who identified himself as Bamoussa said the executed man was accused of killing a fisherman and was a member of the ethnic Tuareg rebel group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
The victim’s family came to Mohammed’s execution, and before he was put to death, they were asked if they would forgive him for his crime. It was explained that in exchange, Mohammed’s family would be forced to compensate them for the death of their son. The victim’s mother said that she could not forgive Mohammed.
The MNLA was formerly an ally of the Islamist groups that have seized control of the north. But the Islamists have since turned on the secular separatist group and chased its members out of cities under their control. (Sources: AFP, thenewstribe.com, 03/10/2012)