Islamists in southern Somalia have stoned a man to death for adultery but spared his pregnant girlfriend until she gives birth.
33-year-old Abas Hussein Abdirahman was killed in front of a crowd of some 300 people in the port town of Merka. An official from the al-Shabab group said the woman would be killed after she has had her baby. This is the third time Islamists have stoned a person to death for adultery in the past year.
"He was screaming and blood was pouring from his head during the stoning. After seven minutes he stopped moving," according to an eyewitness. After the woman is killed, her baby will be given to relatives to look after.
Meanwhile, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has accused al-Shabab of spoiling the image of Islam by killing people and harassing women. "Their actions have nothing to do with Islam," President Ahmed "They are forcing women to wear very heavy clothes, saying they want them to properly cover their bodies but we know they have economic interests in mind - they sell these kinds of clothes and want to force people to buy them."
Last month, two men were stoned to death in the same town after being accused of spying. Before that, a 13-year-old girl was stoned to death for adultery in the southern town of Kismayo. Human rights groups said she had been raped.
Islamist groups run much of southern Somalia, while the UN-backed government only control parts of the capital. The country has not had a functioning national government for 18 years.
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