KISMAYO, Somalia Nov 5 (Garowe Online) - Islamist guerrillas who control of Somalia's third largest city have prohibited the public from carrying weapons inside the town, Puntland-based Radio Garowe reported Wednesday.

Sheikh Hassan Yakub, spokesman for a local administration appointed by the Islamist al Shabaab faction, told a press conference in the southern port of Kismayo that the decision is intended to help improve security.

"Before, we used to give back weapons we found but from now on all weapons will be confiscated," Sheikh Yakub said.

However, he did not specify any other form of punishment that will be enforced upon anyone who breaks the no-weapons rule.

Al Shabaab guerrillas and allied clan militias successfully captured Kismayo in August. The town has been relatively peace since, but the United Nations recently accused Kismayo's Islamist rulers of stoning to death a 13-year old girl who was allegedly "raped." Full story

Source: Garowe Online