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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Al Shabaab bans smoking in southern Somalia town

Abdi Hajji Hussein
Afgoye, Somalia
May 9, 2011

Somalia’s al Qaeda-inspired group on Monday banned residents in Afgoye town in southern Somalia from smoking cigarettes, the first such step the militant group has ever introduced after banning khat.

Residents said that al Shabaab pickups mounted with big speakers could be seen in the town of Afgoye, announcing the ban.

“Everyone must abstain from smoking cigarette and consuming tobacco. If anyone is seen smoking will be jailed one month and that person will be fined three million of Somali shillings (US $97),” Sheikh Abu Ramla, an al Shabaab official, told a crowd of people in Afgoye market Monday morning.

He also warned businessmen against selling cigarettes in the town, saying the trader who violates the ban would receive the same punishment.

The ban caused businessmen in the town to express a deep concern about their business as cigarette sales are one of the major businesses throughout Somalia.

The Somali fundamentalist group in the past imposed a ban on selling khat, a plant with narcotic properties, in the towns they control.

Source: All Headline News (AHN).
Link: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90047772?Al%20Shabaab%20bans%20smoking%20in%20southern%20Somalia%20town.

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