STAR/TRIBUNEBy MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN , Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia - The two accused spies died amid a fusillade of bullets from a firing squad organized by a hardline Islamist militia. The condemned pair were only girls, aged 15 and 18, and their grieving relatives say they were uneducated, usually stayed at home and could not have spied for anyone.
Horrified residents of the town of Belet Weyne, in western Somalia, were forced to watch the execution by al-Shabab on Wednesday. One woman fainted as the girls were gunned down by 10 masked executioners.
"Those who watched the event could not bear the painful experience. Two very young girls were shot as they watched and no one could help," said Dahir Casowe, a local elder.
Al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaida and has carried out whippings, amputations and executions to enforce its own strict interpretation of Islam. But this was the first public execution of girls in Belet Weyne, which al-Shabab took over just over a year ago.
Only shortly before the executions, Sheik Mohamed Ibrahim sentenced the girls to death for spying for government soldiers fighting al-Shabab. The only qualifications Ibrahim needed to be appointed a judge by al-Shabab were that he be male and know the Quran.
Abdiwali Aden, a witness, told The Associated Press by phone that al-Shabab militiamen had walked through Belet Weyne's streets, using microphones and handheld speakers to order residents to attend the pending executions.
Later, Ayan Mohamed Jama, 18, and Huriyo Ibrahim, 15, wearing veils and blindfolds, were brought before the hundreds of gathered residents. As they were mowed down with assault rifles, the girls shouted "There is no God but Allah," said a witness who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. A woman fainted, said Da'ud Ahmed, another witness.
Ayan's father, Mohamed Jama, said she had gone missing for two days. Then a week ago relatives informed him that she was in the custody of al-Shabab. Jama said he went to try and see his daughter but was not allowed to.
"Al-Shabab officials there told me that she was captured during fighting between the militants and the government soldiers outside the town and that she would be brought before court. As I waited for good news, she was killed on Wednesday. I am shocked and cannot say more," said Jama.
Osman Ahmed, one of Huriyo's cousins, said the girls came from poor families who could not afford to send them to school so they stayed at home. "There was no way uneducated young girls could spy for anybody," Ahmed said.
Sheik Yusuf Ali Ugas, the governor of the Hiran region who was appointed by al-Shabab, told the crowd over a loudspeaker that the girls were captured during fighting and that they admitted to spying. But Sadia Osman, who witnessed the execution, said one of the girls proclaimed her innocence.
Ugas warned residents against using their mobile phones or cameras to photograph the execution, saying they risked amputation if they did so. He indicated there may be more executions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Terrible. Absolutely, 100 percent devistating. To make the town watch these two girls have their lives taken away before they could even start? I see it as barbaric. Utterly and completely.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is terrible that those people living in countries like Somalia, have obviously no right to be treated fairly under the law. Otherwise they would not have been sentenced to death by a person whose only qualifications needed to be appointed a jugde was being a male an knew the Qoran insteat of getting a fair process.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, it was obvious that those girls were not spies because they were uneducated and usually at home.
In my opinion living in those conditions is unbelievable and I think that people living for example in the United States should really appreciate that they have the right to be treated fairly under the law.
I think this is a total absurd! It is so terrible to see that things still wotk like that in Somalia and some other countries. It is almost obvious that the girls weren't spies, as it says they were uneducated and mstly were at home. Then comes any man who had read the Quoran, says whatever he wants ad the law will say he's right? This is just not right! Every one should be equal under the law, those girls should at least have the chance to go to trial, and mostly, they shoudn't have been murdered, and in the ront o the whole city, what makes the act even worse! This is a good exemple of how things work in some countries, even today, in the modern times. So I agree with Larissa that we should appreciate a lot all the freedom and rights under the law that we have here in USA, and in my case, in Brazil! When we see news like that is when we realize how much we have, because in our daily life, we tend to just forget and take all this for granted. This kind of news makes us remember all advantages we have!
ReplyDeleteI am horrified that this could happen to these two young girls and no one reached out to help them. I realize that if people spoke out they do might have been sentences to death as well, but two inocent lives were cut short. My question really is how much spying could these two uneducated girls done to deserve death? Inocent until proven guility is priviledge that we have in America, but I guess not in Somalia. They were neither proven inocent nor guilty just striped of there lives. It is hard for me to understand this kind of violence against children.
ReplyDeleteMany Middle Eastern governments are way too harsh about the penalties for civilians. Murdering two young girls for something that they probably didn't do, is a little extreme. In the Middle East women are given basically no freedoms, so who would have the 15 and 18 year old girls spy for them anyway? Even if they were actually spying, how much damage could two young, uneducated girls create? The judge was also unqualified to handle the matter. I feel the girls' murder was used as an example and to create fear for others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Deidre. There's no doubt that they were killed to scare the other civilians out of what these girls were accused of doing because they forced the whole town to witness the consequences of even being suspected of spying. It was a terrible thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with deidreh, The judge clearly unqualified to handle this case. The girls were 15 and 18, they were uneducated and did not deserve the punnishment that they recieved. Like everyone else said even if the girls were spys, they couldnt have done much to harm them. They were young, innocent and did absolutly nothing wrong. And as Tyelyn P2 said people should have stepped up and tried to help or at least put their say into it, yeah they may have also been hurt but u never know if they said something it could have helped change their minds on the whole situation. It was unfair and very crule.
ReplyDeleteI think that the somali people should of never shot the two girls. The somali should've not even shot if they didn't even know if they were spies or not. It just shows that they are starting to get aggresive.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the comments above!
ReplyDeleteIt is totally wrong what the Somali Islamist militants did two the young girls.
They were uneducated, so how could they actually spy?
By this example you can see that some countries do not treat their people fairly under the law and this is just horrible.
In addition, the thought that they killed the girls in front of a bunch of people, just makes me really sad. How can you kill two innocent girls?
Those two girls got cheated with there lives. It is just absolutley outraging to hear of an event like this. No way two girls could have ever been spy, especially 2 young, uneducated girls trying to spy on government activities. The Somali govenment did not handle this horrible tragedy very well. Civilians had to witness these 2 girls murdered litteraly because the Somali government was scared of a couple girls. The girls family and loved ones probably had to witness it in the streets. Even if i didnt know these girls I could not bare to watch two innocent girls gunned down.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think it was completely unfair to shoot at these two young innocent girls. They were only 15 and 18 and still had the rest of their lives ahead of them. These girls were both uneducated and both spent most of their time at home so it was very unlikely that they were spies for anybody. This was also very unfair because these girls were just accused of being spies and they were never actually proven to be spies. The girls and their families should have at least gotten the chance to prove they weren't spies instead of just being shot at especially in front of citizens of Belet Weyne. This would have been a very horrible sight to witness and it is very sad to think that people couldn't really stand up for these two girls and say something without having to risk their own lives.
ReplyDeleteWow. Two totally innocent young girls would not be spies for anyone. Executing them for no reason is crazy. And making the town watch is terrible. The whole situation was taken way too far. It would be difficult for two uneducated girls to be smart enough to be spies.
ReplyDeleteI think that it wasn't fair the way that they treated under-aged Somalia girls were handled. If they were uneducated and usually stayed at home how much spying for the government could they really have done? I personally don't think they could have done much if any! I also think that it was very rude and unfair that people were forced to watch the execution of the two girls by al-Shabab.If they didnt want to watch two innocent girl get killed then why would you make them whats the point! I also think that since they weren't found guilty yet they should have been put in a less serious punishment until decided proven guilty or not. I also think that the way they executed the girls was a bit to drastic for underaged-aged girls!
ReplyDeleteI think it was not fair to accuse and kill the young Somalian girls because there was no evidence to prove them guilty of spying. The executioners, in my point of veiw, had no right to right to gun down the girls in front of the whole community without proper investigation and accusation of the whole situation involving young girls. Their families and loved ones had to see them get shot to death. It makes me wonder if these people actually have hearts sometimes because of the cruel way they punish people. Even if the girls were spies, things could have been handled way differently. But seriously, what are the chances of having two UNDER-AGED and UNEDUCATED girls being hired as spies for the government. If you ask me, I would say slim to none. But thanks to the lack of investigation and not having the proper evidence to accuse the girls, these poor young ladies lost their lives to something they did not even do. Personally, i think the governement should have taken this case more seriously and investigate it further. Obviously, they can't anymore because they had killed two of the key people in this horrible situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everybody's comments about!! It's sooo sad and terrible that 2 girls had to die! I don't think they did spy even because their family said they stay home most of the time and are uneducated and are only 15&18. They could've at least had a chance to prove that they were innocent. But nooo they were shot down because the Somali government was being dumb. They had their whole lives ahead of them and now they are dead. And what's worse is that their loved ones had to watch them die! All that is just cruel and not neccessary at all!
ReplyDelete*** i meant above in the 1st sentece, not about haha ***
ReplyDeletei think the united states shouldnt get involved in how other countries prosecute people who have apparently "broke" the law. sure, we may think its wrong but its total different way of viewing things compared to here and they can punish them how they want or believe. if the united states would step into any other country for something like this i think all it would do is cause even more drama and death...
ReplyDeleteI agree with matt, why should we get involved with other peoples problems when we have our own problems. We should not judge how their society has been raised when they could be looking at us and think that, that is weird and unusual. Who are we to judge their goverment and how the people are governed? They might think that our goverment is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think that the U.S. army that is around all the world shoul come back now, because, 1 - not a U.S. problem, 2- The U.S. has his own problems...
ReplyDeleteLAST COMMENT
ReplyDelete