Bamako: Islamist rebels have cut off the hand of a suspected cattle thief in Mali, the first amputation under sharia law imposed by insurgents controlling the country’s desert north.
A rebel leader in Gao Aliou Toure confirmed the reports and said “Our men cut off the hand of a thief after a judgment based on supporting evidence. They did it according to sharia.” The amputation took place on Wednesday.
Mujwa, which is suspected of links to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, is among Islamist and separatist Tuareg groups that seized control of northern Mali in April, after a coup in the capital Bamako sapped the government’s ability to counter them. Before the crisis, Mali had a reputation as a rare example of a stable democracy in a tumultuous region.
Mali’s interim government condemned the amputation as a “despicable act” and reiterated its support for an international force to help take back the north.
Sanda Ould Boumama, a spokesman for Ansar Dine, another Islamist group linked to al-Qaida, said imposing sharia in Mali was not negotiable. “When you steal we cut off your hand, there is nothing more normal,” he said.
Youths in Gao earlier in the week forced MUJWA to delay the punishment by hand amputation of an accused robber.
Regional and western governments fear northern Mali could become the next launchpad for international Islamist terrorist attacks, as Afghanistan was more than a decade ago, and efforts are under way to organise a joint intervention force.
Regional mediators, including Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, Djibril Bassole, and the president of the High Islamic Council in Mali, Mahmoud Dicko, are also trying to negotiate with the rebels to end the crisis.
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said on Wednesday that Mali was becoming a safe haven for “terrorist and criminal” groups.
The 15-nation West African bloc ECOWAS is pushing for the UN Security Council to back deployment of a 3,000-strong intervention force to restore stability in the capital and strengthen Mali’s defeated military to help it retake the north.
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