A spokesman for the Al-Shabaab terror group active in Somalia declared coronavirus as a ‘punishment visited by Allah upon the disbelievers’ in an audio message reported on 27 April.
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Mogadishu began to climb, the militant, known as Ali Dhere, called on Muslims to gloat about the ‘painful torment’ inflicted on any non-Muslims who contract Covid-19.
Ali Dhere accused the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM), which supports government forces combatting terrorism, and other foreigners in Somalia, of spreading the virus and called for their expulsion from the country in order to contain the pandemic.
