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Somali khat protester shot dead

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Islamist fighters in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, shot at a crowd angered at shortages of the mild narcotic khat, killing one person, say eyewitnesses.

Khat vendors were protesting about loss of revenue since a ban on Kenyan flights to Somalia on Monday, that has led to a shortage of imported khat.

The Islamists have subsequently burned two big khat consignments which were flown in from elsewhere this week.

The Islamic courts have tried to outlaw khat since they rose to power in June.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that now rules the capital says khat encourages immorality.

Most khat, chewed by many Somali men - especially the gunmen who have fought for control of the country for the last 15 years - was flown in from neighbouring Kenya.

Kenya banned all flights to Somalia, citing security fears.

There were six flights a week from Nairobi to Mogadishu and services to three other towns and many more khat flights each day.

Curfew

The khat protesters were burning tyres and throwing stones before shots were fired.

"We were demonstrating... [when] they opened fire on us," protester Nur Aden Wajishe told AFP news agency.

Other eyewitnesses described seeing a person die of bullet wounds and several others injured in the shooting.

"A 13-year-old boy was killed," resident Ali Suleiman told Reuters news agency.

"I saw an injured man lying on the ground, he was bleeding profusely," he said.

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on the city.

The consignment of khat burned on Tuesday at an airport 50km south of Mogadishu was estimated to be worth $40,000 and to have originated from Ethiopia, local media reports.

Wednesday's shipment was incinerated because it landed at Mogadishu's main airport where khat imports are not allowed, officials say.

(more text in the link but unrelated to article)

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This plant causes immorality... so we will kill your children if you try to stop us taking it away from you!

:blink::BANGHEAD2::uzi::crux::(:puke::ana::slap:

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That is horrifying!

As f-ed up as Australia's law is, I am glad to live in such a free country. :wub:

We had protesters storm the Orica building in Melbourne yesterday, and refuse to leave for over an hour. They didn't get shot, but would have in many other countries, for a similar stunt.

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I am not siding with anyone here, but media bias must be taken into consideration.

After following this story for a few days, it seems the only people who were protesting were khat vendors, who stood to lose a hefty chunk of cash from the ban.

Also the gunmen didn't open fire until they were attacked themselves.

Just to use Benz post as an example, if our protesters had stormed the building and attacked police officials, most likely scenario would've been a storming by armed riot police ready to crack some skulls.

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