A military court in Somalia has sentenced six teenagers to death for involvement with the armed militia.
The military court, which sat on January 31, sentenced the six teenagers to death.
The court sat in Galkayo, Puntland.
Apparently, the teenagers had been arrested on suspicion that they were members of armed groups terrorizing locals.
Four of the teenagers received the death penalty.
At the time of their arrest on October 20, four of them were aged 15 years.
The four who have been sentenced to die for their crimes are aged 16-18 years.
Two others, who are 16-year olds, have been handed a prison term of 20 and 30 years respectively.
Save the Children has expressed dismay at the sentencing.
According to the organization’s Country Director for Somalia, Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, the sentencing is a gross violation of international laws.
Hassan cited the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as the primary law that the military court violated when sentencing the six Somali teenagers.