KISMAYO, Somalia May 6 (Garowe Online) - Islamist hardliners in southern Somalia have showcased public films showing grotesque violence and have destroyed gravesites, Radio Garowe reports.

Al Shabaab hardliners in the southern port of Kismayo constructed large screens to portray real-life film footage recorded from "wars in Somalia, Palestine and Afghanistan."

Kismayo residents described the films as bloody and violent, showing gruesome images of civilians being killed by foreign militaries.

"If I take Mogadishu for example, the films showed Ethiopian troops and AMISOM [African Union] troops shelling civilian areas, causing many deaths," said one film viewer.

Some of the films showed Israeli armed forces bombarding civilians neighborhoods in Gaza and the West Bank, the viewers added.

A spokesman for Al Shabaab said the films are intended to show the public the "suffering of Muslims" across the world. He noted that the films will soon be shown in other areas under Al Shabaab control, including Bay, Bakool, Gedo and Lower Shabelle regions.

Gravesites

At least 12 gravesites were destroyed in the outskirts of Kismayo this week by Al Shabaab, fighters and residents said.

Sheikh Fu'ad Abdullahi, who a senior member of Al Shabaab, said the gravesites were destroyed as part of an "ongoing process."

"The destroyed gravesites were places where people worshipped, and this is forbidden by Islam," Sheikh Fu'ad told reporters.

The town of Kamsuma, which is located 90km north of Kismayo, was the site where many religious scholars were buried, with some graves reportedly older than a century.

Heavy fighting erupted in central Somalia's Galgadud region in late 2008 between Al Shabaab and Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a, a Sufi group, with reporting linking the eruption of that conflict to Al Shabaab desecration of gravesites.

Source: Garowe Online

Source: Garowe Online