The Shabab, Somalia's most powerful Islamist insurgents, killed two teenage girls on Wednesday. The two girls, one 18, the other 14, were shot in the center of the town Beledweyne, near the border of Ethiopia. The Shabab drove into town in large trucks ordering the residents to watch the execution take place. They were also told to turn off their cell phones and were warned not to take pictures. The two girls were killed at the regional headquarters at the center of the town. The Shabab official in town, Sheik Yusuf Ali Ugas, told local journalists, "the two girls were found guilty of spying for the Ethiopian government." Ethiopia invaded Somalia in 2006 in efforts to end an Islamist movement that had taken control of most of the country, including the capital of Mogadishu. Ethiopian soldiers remained in Somalia for the next three years before withdrawing. Mr. Ugas said the teenagers were not the only ones in Shabab custody. He also sent a warning to Ethiopia saying that the Shabab knew all the informants serving for the Ethiopian government. The Somali government stated, "This act of killing innocent children does not have Islamic and humanitarian justifications." The Shabab have been held responsible for many human rights violations in the areas they control. For example, in 2008 they stoned to death a rape victim in the port town of Kismayo.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/world/africa/29somalia.html?ref=world
Submitted by Emily Collins
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