MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s military court on Thursday found two foreigners guilty of working with the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab and jailed them for 15 years, though the duo denied supporting the terror group.
Darren Anthony Byrness from Britain and Ahmed Mustaqim bin Abdulhamid from Malaysia denied charges against them that they had supported the Al-Qaeda-affiliate in Somalia. Byrness insisted that he had come in the Horn of Africa country to visit the family of his Somali wife while Abdulhamid said he had arrived to visit a friend.
The duo are first foreign nationals charged with supporting the militant group in Somalia and jailed by a court in the war-torn nation.
Both foreign jihadists were given 30 days to appeal and the verdict issued by the Somali military court comes as militants aligned with Al-Qaeda continue to gain ground in central Somalia amid wrangling between the country’s most powerful leaders.
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