Somalia, Puntland Executes 10 Al-Shabaab Fighters Amid Ongoing Conflict

On Saturday, Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, executed ten fighters from the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab. The executions, carried out by firing squad in Galkayo, were the result of a military court trial that convicted the fighters of involvement in multiple assassinations and bombings in the city.

According to police sources cited by AFP, the fighters had previously been sentenced to death by the supreme court of the armed forces for their role in violent attacks in Galkayo.

Al-Shabaab’s Decline and Recent Attacks

Al-Shabaab, an Islamist extremist group with ties to al-Qaeda, emerged in the early 2000s with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in Somalia. Despite initially gaining support by promising security, the group’s reputation was severely damaged when it rejected Western food aid during the 2011 drought and famine, worsening the humanitarian crisis.

For nearly two decades, al-Shabaab has been engaged in a violent campaign to overthrow Somalia’s central government and impose its strict interpretation of sharia law. Recent months have seen a resurgence in violence, including a suicide bombing and gun attack on a busy beach in Mogadishu that killed 37 people. In June, a car bomb at a cafe in the capital claimed five lives, and in March, an hours-long siege on a hotel resulted in three deaths and 27 injuries.

The conflict in Somalia continues as al-Shabaab remains a significant threat to stability and security in the region.