Friday, November 17, 2006
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Somali Islamist security men stand guard by a consignment of the popular narcotic leaf khat on November 16, imported from Ethiopia by a business woman at Mogadishu airport. Somalia's powerful Islamist movement has slapped a total ban on khat after breaking up a protest against such plans in which at least two people were killed.(AFP) |
"The Islamic courts have forbidden the import of khat into areas of Somalia under our control," said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the
head of the executive wing of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS).
"Consuming, transporting and merchandising the substance is criminal," he told reporters, adding that anyone found with khat would be fined up to 500 000 Somali shillings (about $350).
Owners or operators of vehicles caught transporting the green leaf that produces mild euphoria when chewed will face fines of up 7 000 000 shillings, he said.
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"Our people have been spending huge amounts of money every day on khat and that is bad economically," Ahmed said, adding that"narcotics are a source of anti-social behavior" that will not be tolerated under Sharia law.
His comments came after Islamist police on Thursday opened fire on khat vendors protesting the ban in Mogadishu's southern Black
Sea neighbourhood.
Initial reports indicated that one person, a teenage boy, had been killed but on Friday residents of the area said the toll had
risen to two, with the death of one of three people wounded in the incident.
Many protesters complained the ban was unfair and would destroy their livelihoods.
Since seizing Mogadishu in June, the Islamists have expanded their territory to include most of southern and central Somalia where they have imposed strict Sharia law, banning numerous popular pastimes and entertainments.
In addition to prohibiting khat, they have banned tobacco smoking in the southern port of Kismayo as well as live music, cinema halls and photo shops in most areas they control with varying degrees of enforcement.
The rise of the Islamists, some of whom are accused of links with al-Qaeda, has fuelled concern of a fundamentalist takeover of
Somalia similar to that of the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
The Islamists are now girding for war against the country's weak transitional government and fears are high that conflict may engulf the Horn of Africa region.
Source: AFP, Nov 17, 2006