Somalia's military court has sentenced to death 15 soldiers...

Somalia's military court has sentenced to death 15 soldiers of the Somali National Forces after they were found guilty of committing murder and rape in Mogadishu. General Hassan Mohamed Hussein Alias Muungaab, the chairman of the Military Court, announced the verdict. He stated that the 14 soldiers have been accused of killing their colleagues working in the government forces, pointing out that eight of the accused had jointly murdered a military colleague in Mogadishu on June 15th. Genaral Muungaab said that on September 13 the judge of the military court brought to justice eight soldiers accused of the murder charges. They included, First Lieutenant Jamaal Abdikarim Moalim, First Lieutenant Mukhtaar Mohamed Ahmed, First Lieutenant Sa’iid Abdille Mohamed, Second Lieutenant Abdullahi Moalim Abdi Nuur, Constable Abdurahman Hassan Miine Affey, Constable Ali Hassan Daahir Mataan, Constable Abdullahi Mohamed, Hirabe Xaayow and First Lieutenant Ali Mire Mataan. The judge of the military court also sentenced to death other eight soldiers for killing other soldiers while another one, Abdi Osman Ali, was found guilty of raping a civilian woman in Mogadishu. However, the judge ordered the release of one of the accused soldiers who was not found guilty. “The court orders for the release of the First Lieutenant Ali Mirre Mataan since there not any evidence linking him to the offenses he is being accused of," he said. The latest convicts will be the highest in number since January this year when the military court was founded to handle military offenses.