Somaliland executes six convicted Soldiers for murder

Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has executed six ex-soldiers condemned for murder, officials said.

The six were killed by a firing squad on Tuesday in Mandera town after being sentenced by the Military tribunal, the court officials confirmed to the media.

“Ex-police, Abdirisack Kheyre killed commanding officer, Adan Guleda civilian in Berbara town  last year,  Ex-army Serviceman Abdiaziz Saeed Warsame murdered the officer commanding 93rd Battalion Bashe Ali in Badhan district, Ex-Police officer Abdilahi Abdi Elmi killed of a civilian Abdi Osman Ali in Hargeisa and Ex-army serviceman Osman Hirad Diriye gun down his fellow officer late Ahmed Weli in Borame town therefore the court sentence the four to death” said Hassan Aden, the prosecutor general

In the recent past Somaliland has been engulfed by case of uniformed officers killing either colleagues or commanding officers at duty stations prompting the minister of Defence Ahmed Adami to instigate investigations by psychologists into the anomaly that has seen over ten incidents perpetrated separately on various occasions.

This is the second execution by firing squad in Somaliland since Somaliland unilaterally declared independence in 1991 when Somalia’s central government in Mogadishu collapsed.

In 2012, a military court in Somaliland sentenced to death 17 civilians who were accused of attacking a military base.

The European Union, the United Nations and human rights campaigners have all urged Somalia and Somaliland authorities to reinstate the moratorium.