Somalia executes 10 Al-Shabab insurgents

Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland executed 10 fighters from Al-Shabab on Saturday, the region’s police said in a statement.

The executions, by firing squad, in Galkayo in the state’s Mudug region followed a trial of the fighters in a military court where they were sentenced to death for involvement in assassinations and bombings in several locations in Galkayo.

Police said the executed fighters “were previously sentenced to death by the supreme court of the armed forces after they were found to have committed murders in the city of Galkayo.”

Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab insurgents have been fighting for nearly two decades, aiming to topple Somalia’s central government.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to authorize the African Union to maintain its peacekeeping operation in Somalia until the end of the year.

It also called for plans for a successor mission, a critical step toward the country’s takeover of its security.