Two killed in Somalia for viewing World Cup

6 July 2006

Islamic militiamen have killed two people in central Somalia after opening fire in a cinema where people were watching a banned World Cup match.

Sources said the shooting, which also left several people injured, occurred late Tuesday when soccer fans barred by Islamists from watching the semi-final match between Germany and Italy protested at the ban.

Militia loyal to the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), who seized control of parts of Somalia last month, reportedly killed the cinema owner and a young girl.

Reports from the scene said the shooting came when militiamen in the central town of Dusa Mareb -- the home area of the Islamists' hardline leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys -- shut a cinema showing the Germany-Italy semi-final.

The SCIC who kicked U.S.-backed alliance of warlords out of Mogadishu then took control of a large swathe of southern Somalia last month, have introduced Sharia law in areas under their authority, including a World Cup broadcast ban.

This has included in some parts a ban on cinemas and on broadcasts of World Cup games because they have carried advertisements for alcohol.

According to reports, the gunmen arrived to close down the cinema in the town, where a crowd had gathered to watch the Germany-Italy World Cup semi-final.

Some of the football fans began to protest and according to reports, the gunmen fired in the air in an attempt to disperse them.

When this failed, shots were fired at the demonstrators and two people were killed, leaving at least four injured.

World Cup broadcast ban has drawn anger from football lovers in the Horn of Africa nation with clerics arguing that some elements, notably advertisements for alcoholic beverages, are evil.

The Islamic courts first began to close down cinema halls showing Hollywood and Bollywood films last year as their influence expanded, arguing that the presentations contravened their strict interpretation of Islam.