Somali militants execute man on murder charges, cut off thief’s hand after giving anesthesia

Somali militants execute man, sever thief’s hands

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Witnesses say militants from Somalia’s most hardline insurgent group have executed a man they convicted of murder and cut off the hands of an accused thief — after injecting him with anesthesia.

Hundreds of Mogadishu residents gathered to watch the firing squad execution Monday, which was carried out by three masked men from the al-Shabab militia.

Resident Abdulle Lugey says the militants also chopped off the hand of a thief after two nurses injected him with anesthesia. Then a waiting ambulance rushed him to a hospital. The militants displayed mattresses they said the man had stolen from trucks.

The hard-line militants carry out amputations, stonings and lashings as punishment. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.