Puntland sentences 18 Al-Shabaab members to death

The Supreme Court’s military government in Galkayo has sentenced 17 men to death.  The court also  sentenced 18-year-old Abdirizak Ahmed Burale to life in prison, according to a court ruling.

All of the men are suspected of belonging to the militant insurgency group Al-Shabaab.

The men are accused of carrying out hundreds of killings as part of an active assassination cell operating in Puntland for 13 years. The majority of the group’s victims were in northern Galkayo.

The victims included government officers and private civilians.

The men had previously been sentenced to death by the Puntland Military Court, but they appealed and hired lawyers to defend them.

The Puntland government says that the convictions will deal a heavy blow to Al-Shabaab’s operations in the region.