Wednesday November 2, 2022
Galkacyo (HOL) - A Somali military court executed Abdullahi Ali Adan in Galkacyo on Tuesday after being found guilty of belonging to the militant group al-Shabab.
Adan is responsible for a 2018 attack in Galkacyo that left 15 people dead, including the prominent cleric Sheikh Abdiweli Elmi Afyare.
Abdullahi Ali Adan was identified as the murderer of a US-trained Danab soldier among the soldiers who responded to the site to assist the people.
Adan was the only member of the cell that was arrested alive. A Galkayo court convicted him to death in 2019.
He was executed by firing squad on Tuesday morning.
Al-Shabab fighters stormed into a mosque led by Sheikh Abdiweli Ali Elmi Yare in the north-central city of Galkayo in the Mudug region, attacking the Sufi leader and his followers.
Residents of Galkayo and a regional official said Abdiweli was attacked because his centre hosts youths who play music and dance.
Abdiweli had established his breakaway sect in Galkayo, garnering hundreds of followers who would sing songs praising Prophet Muhammad, which the armed group despised.
Last year, al-Shabaab accused the sheikh of referring to himself as a prophet, which Sheikh Elmi vigorously denied.
Abdirashid Hashi, the governor of the Mudug region, told Reuters that the armed group had threatened Abdiweli on numerous occasions.