Garowe Online (Garowe)
26 May 2008
Militiamen loyal to Somalia's Islamic Courts movement who control parts of Middle Shabelle region have issued an order banning carrying weapons in public inside the provincial capital, Jowhar.
Sheikh Dahir, the commander of Islamist forces in Jowhar, told the townspeople Monday that any individual carrying a weapon will be reprimanded for violating the law.
"Any person carrying a weapon inside Jowhar will be considered a troublemaker trying to bother the people," Sheikh Dahir said, adding that the decision was reached after consultations with local community activists, elders and business leaders.
Somali Islamist fighters
The business community in Jowhar was warned against refusing to accept Somali Shillings that are too old or torn, because such a rule is detrimental to the poor masses, according to the officials.
Further, Jowhar townspeople were explicitly warned against "robbing public lands,"
something that has been on the increase ever since the Somali government-appointed regional administration withdrew from the town and the Islamists took control.
Middle Shabelle region, which borders Mogadishu, has been largely lawless or governed by Islamic Courts gunmen in recent weeks.
Somalia' s Ethiopian-backed interim government, which lacks the resources to expand its authority outside the capital, has not addressed the Islamists' control of many central and southern regions.
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