A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was killed and three others wounded overnight when Somali Islamic militia raided a cinema hall in southern Mogadishu to break up a crowd watching an English premier league match. They said the militiamen aboard machinegun-mounted pickups stormed Duale Cinema in Bulo-hubey district where hundreds were watching the Chelsea-Liverpool match and opened fire, killing the boy as others scampered for safety. They also smashed a television set and satellite-link equipment. | “They tried to prevent the Islamic court carrying out its duties by making violence so we have |
The Islamists confirmed the death, but blamed the fans for sparking the violence when they blocked militiamen from entering the hall to implement a ban on cinema halls in Mogadishu. "They started violent protest and fired bullets at the Islamic militias and we returned fire," said Ise Mohamed, a commander for the Islamic gunmen. "They tried to prevent the Islamic court carry out its duties by making violence so that we have dispersed them with gunfire," he said.