A couple accused of adultery in northern Mali were stoned to death Sunday by Islamists that seized control of the area in a military coup in March. Officials say both of the victims were married. The woman had two children.
About 200 people in the remote town of Aguelhok watched as the man and woman were forced into holes and buried up to their necks. Islamists then threw stones at them until they died.
"I don't know how many rocks they threw or for how long it went on before they were both dead," a witness said. "No one dared to try and stop the Islamists."
A local official said the woman lost consciousness “after the first few blows,” and the man only cried out once.
An Islamist leader said the punishment followed Sharia law.
Two Islamist groups with links to al Qaeda currently control two-thirds of northern Mali. They seized control of the region earlier this year during a military coup that overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré and installed a civilian transitional government led by parliament speaker Dioncounda Traoré.
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