Ethiopia passes Death sentence on convicted Somali Islamist

March 26, 2010(ADDIS ABABA) – The federal court of Ethiopia on Thursday passed death sentence against a former member of the radical Somali Al -Itihad Al-Islamiya group for committing “terrorist acts” during mid 1990s.State ministry of justice said in a statement.

Hassan Mohammed Mahmoud was found guilty in a number of counts including plot to assassinate senior government officials and attempt to create an Islamic state in Ethiopia’s Somali region.

Court said that the convict was behind the brutal killing of six innocent civilians and was the mastermind to a number of bomb attacks occurred at various areas of the country including an attack in a public transport train in Dire Dawa.

The statement said no lenient was considered due the weight of the brutality of the killings committed against six innocent civilians and the threat the group posed had the plans went accordingly.

“The acts were intended to dismantle the unity of the Ethiopian people, endanger the sovereignty of the nation, and destabilize its peace and security of the country,” the statement said.

According to Ethiopia law, execution will only be carried out if the Ethiopia head of state signs the court ruling.

In the early 1990s, as Somalia fell into disorder following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime, Osama bin Laden took advantage of the chaos to fund Al-Itihaad, later sending foreign militants who trained and fought alongside Al-Itihaad members with the goal of creating an Islamist state in the Horn of Africa.

By 1994, Al-Itihaad had established itself in the Somali Region of Ethiopia become most active in the region launching various violent actions including plots to kill government officials.

In 1996 the group attempted assassination of the then Minister of Transportation and Communications, Abdul Magid Hussein, founder of the current Somali State in Ethiopia.

Another was in March of that year, when they raided areas in the Jijiga Zone controlled by the Absguul clan, apparently in collaboration with disaffected members of this clan. Established local security forces cleared Al-Itihaad infiltrators from the Jijiga Zone, and the defeated remnants retreated to disputed border areas between the Somali and Oromo regions.

(ST)