With the Mali crisis deepening, African leaders met Friday to discuss ways in which to take back the country's northern half from Al Qaeda-linked militants.
The plan would entail France providing logistical support to a West African force to take back control of northern Mali from the Al Qaeda-linked militants now in power.
Oumar Ould Hamaha, speaking on behalf of the group, said, "According to the Sharia, the men had to face double punishment for theft and highway robbery."
Mali's army killed 16 people who refused to stop at a checkpoint in the town of Diabali, though it remains unclear if they were Islamist fighters or civilians.
In the latest atrocity from war-torn Mali, Islamists have allegedly amputed a man's hand for "thievery" in Ansongo, a town located in the African country's north.
UNICEF reported that at least 175 boys between the ages of 12 and 18 have been forcibly recruited by the Islamist militants in the north of the country.
Islamist militants on a campaign of destruction in Timbuktu, Mali's fabled desert city, have smashed shrines and attacked the sacred Sidi Yahia mosque.
Follow us: