Mali Islamists 'Increasingly Repressive'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Radical Islamists in control of northern Mali are becoming "increasingly repressive," amputating limbs, whipping people in the streets and stoning to death a couple accused of adultery, a human rights group has said.

The Islamists' efforts to impose Sharia law has also extended to banning ring tones on mobile phones that are not Koranic verse readings, as well as prohibiting cigarettes and alcohol.

Women who wear jewellery or perfume, or fail to cover their heads can also face punishment, Human Rights Watch said in its report Tuesday.

"The Islamist armed groups have become increasingly repressive as they have tightened their grip over northern Mali," said Corinne Dufka, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Stonings, amputations and floggings have become the order of the day in an apparent attempt to force the local population to accept their world view."

Human Rights Watch said it had documented at least eight amputations since the radical Islamists seized power earlier this year in the north ofMali, a predominantly moderate Muslim country in western Africa. Other elderly residents collapsed after being flogged as punishment, the group said. » | Source: AP | Tuesday, September 25, 2012