MOGADISHU, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) — Islamist rebels on Tuesday publicly stoned a woman to death and flogged a man 100 times for alleged adultery in southern Somalia.

Sheik Ibrahim Sheik Abdurrahman, a Al-Shabaab court judge in ElBon village in Bakool region, told local media about the courts verdict.

“Haliimo Ibraahim Abdurrahman, 29, who had been previously married, had an illegal sex with Nanah Mohamed Maadey, 20, previously unmarried, and they have confessed to the acts in front of the court which sentenced Halimo to be stoned to death and Nanah to receive 100 lashes in accordance with the Islamic law,” Sheikh Abdurrahman said.

Hundreds of local people, mostly women and children, saw the stoning of the woman and the lashing of the man which were carried out by Islamist fighters from the hard-line Al-Shabaab insurgent group which controls much of south and center of Somalia.

The group which is waging a deadly insurgency against Somali government applies stricter version of the Islamic law or the Sharia by carrying out similar punishments on people alleged to have “confessed” of committing crimes.

Al-Shabaab, considered by the Somali government as a terrorist group with links to Al-Qaeda, bans music, films the mixing of different sexes and demands women to wear dress that cover the whole body.

The movement wants to establish an Islamic state in war wrecked Somalia while the Somali government said it adopted a moderate version of Islamic rule.

The Somali government which is internationally recognized but is struggling for its survival controls only parts of the country’s restive coastal capital of Mogadishu.

Somalia has had no strong central government for nearly two decades since the ouster of former ruler Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.

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Xinhua

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