Mali couple stoned to death for having pre-marital sex
Malian troops check bushes on July 18, 2011, three weeks after a military raid dislodged Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrab (AQIM) from its newly-built base in the Wagoudou forest. Situated 500km (300 miles) north-east of the Malian capital Bamako, on the border with Mauritania, the Wagadou Forest was to be used by AQIM as a base from which to carry out attacks in the region and store heavy weapons.
A Mali couple was stoned to death by Islamists in front of 200 people. The couple's "crime" was sex before marriage, BBC News reported.
An anonymous local government official witnessed the barbaric execution. "I was there. The Islamists took the unmarried couple to the center of Aguelhok. The couple was placed in two holes and the Islamists stoned them to death," the official told Agence France-Presse."The woman fainted after the first few blows."
More from GlobalPost: When the BRICs crumble
A spokesman for the radical Islamist group behind the attack told the Associated Press that the couple was executed according to Shariah Law.
The execution comes after militant Islamist groups seized control of towns in northern Mali earlier this year. The militants have horrified the international community when they destroyed centuries-old shrines in the historic city of Timbuktu. Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore called for talks with the militants on Sunday, the BBC reported.
The Economic Community of West African States wants to send troops to Mali but is waiting to get approval from the United Nations, the AFP reported. The unmarried couple left behind two children, including a six-month-old infant.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!