By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
BAMAKO, Mali – On Tuesday, a man accused of killing his neighbor was publicly executed by firing squad in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu.
(Photo courtesy of Reuters)
An alleged member of the ethnic Tuareg rebel group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), he was accused of killing his neighbor. Eyewitnesses report that he was brought in handcuffs to the execution area and seated with his legs facing Mecca before a judge ordered his sentence to be carried out. “I saw him fall after the shots were fired,” said one witness. “He was shot in the back, but did not die until several hours later,” another said.
The man’s public execution was decreed by an ultra-conservative Muslim rebel group, Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), who is reportedly connected with Al-Qaeda’s north African branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
“[The executed man] turned himself in… He was judged, condemned to death and executed this evening. He was shot in the same way he shot his victim. This is what the Sharia says,” Sanda Ould Boumana, a spokesperson for Ansar Dine, told the press on Tuesday.
Ansar Dine and the MNLA used to be allies, but the alliance between the two was short-lived due to internal conflict among their members. Since then, the members of Ansar Dine have been chasing MNLA members out of towns under their control.
Since Ansar Dine took over Timbuktu from separatist groups including the MNLA, the place has been under Sharia law. The public killing is purportedly the latest demonstration by the rebel group of its intention to impose Ansar Dine’s rigid and strict interpretation of Islamic law.
A fews months back, Ansar Dine ravaged through Timbuktu sacking its 15th and 16th century mosques and tombs declaring the sites to be idolatrous and haram (Forbidden in Islam).
More recently, Ansar Dine members have arrested unveiled women, stoned an unmarried couple to death, publicly flogged smokers, amputated at least eight suspected thieves, and administered lashings to people accused of drinking alcohol, according to local eyewitnesses and residents.
Human rights groups, along with the United Nations Security Council, expressed their concern about the increasing number of human rights violations committed by the rebel group. West African countries from the regional bloc ECOWAS already requested the UN to issue a mandate for military intervention in northern Mali. The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold “preliminary” talks over this request on Thursday.
For further information, please see:
AFP – Mali Islamists execute alleged murderer in Timbuktu: witnesses – 3 October 2012
Al Jazeera – Mali hardliners carry out public execution – 3 October 2012
BBC News – Mali Islamists kill man by firing squad in Timbuktu – 3 October 2012
Reuters – Mali Islamists execute accused murderer in Timbuktu – 2 October 2012
Al Jazeera – ICC Threatens Mali Islamists with War Crimes – 2 July 2012
