SOMALIA: 17 AL-SHABAAB MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN PUNTLAND

The military Supreme Court in the semi-autonomous Somali regional state of Puntland on 13 June 2021 sentenced 17 men to death in Galkayo.
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.