Al-Shabaab hitmen executed in Somalia a day after a deadly car bombings

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's military court has executed three Al-Shabaab hitmen in the latest move which comes just a day after the militants raided downtown Mogadishu, killing over 100 people while injuring scores, in an attack that has been widely condemned globally.

The three Al-Shabaab hitmen were convicted of attacking and killing 15 innocent civilians between 2018 and 2020, and their appeals were rejected by the same court. Usually, the military court gives room for appeals to the convicts as enshrined in international human rights law.

Reports indicate that the convicts were executed by the Somali National Army firing squad early on Monday in Mogadishu, the latest series of executions carried out by the government against militants. Hardcore criminals in the country are usually tried and executed by the military court.

Somalia does not have a robust justice system due to decades of civil war, insecurity, and internal wrangles within the government, making it difficult for justice to be delivered. The international community has been calling for reforms in the fragile and delicate justice system in the country.

Those executed were Hassan Ali Moallim Barre who was convicted for detonating a car bomb in the Wadajir market in November 2018 which killed 12. Nur Ibrahim Mahad-Alle was found guilty of delivering an IED that killed Mahaas deputy mayor in 2019 and Isak Keerow Adan, a grenade thrower for killing two in Suuq Ba’ad and Weydow in 2020.

Their execution comes at the time the government has heightened operations against Al-Shabaab across the country with the help of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], the US Africa Command, and the local militia. The operation has left over 300 militants dead.

In return, the group which is located in interval feuds has been carrying out sporadic attacks in the country, targeting security officials, government officers, and innocent civilians. On Saturday, the group carried out the worst attack in as many months which left over 107 dead and scores injured.

Somalia is striving to defeat the militants who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia, and stakeholders have lauded President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for his strategy to defeat the group. The president has warned locals against parting with money to Al-Shabaab extortionists.

GAROWE ONLINE