Somali Militants Amputate Suspected Thieves' Hands, Feet
By VOA News
25 June 2009
Islamist militants in Somalia's capital have amputated a hand and a foot from each of four young men convicted of robbery.
A court set up by the militant group al-Shabab had found the men guilty of stealing cell phones and pistols from residents of Mogadishu.
Hooded men using a machete carried out the amputations on Thursday, as a crowd of hundreds looked on.
Witnesses said the suspected thieves, some of them believed to be teenagers, screamed in pain, and that some in the crowd had to turn away. The amputees received medical treatment afterward.
An al-Shabab spokesman who addressed the crowd said the group was implementing Sharia or Islamic law.
Al-Shabab, which is fighting to topple the Somali government, has imposed a very strict interpretation of Islamic law in the areas it controls.
The group has carried out executions and amputations in the port city of Kismayo in the past.
Rights group Amnesty International had urged the militants not to harm the suspected thieves.
In a statement Thursday, the group condmened the amputations, saying they amount to torture and constitute a war crime.
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