Somalia - Ali Mahdi Mohamed

Ali Mahdi Mohamed controls the relatively sedate northern area of Mogadishu. He is allied with Osman Ali Atto, who formerly bankrolled Aideed's fight for power. Atto and Aideed battled it out in the south, with casualties per day between 60-100 people killed and 10 times as many wounded. Ali Mahdi, the other "president" of Somalia, is backed by the Somali Salvation Alliance and supported by the Saad and Abgal clans. Ali Mahdi presents himself as a moderate and is in favor of alignment with the West. His brand of Islamic justice has led to amputations, stonings and floggings in the northern Mogadishu areas he controls. In the last year, the SSA has judged at least 500 cases and ordered five executions, 21 amputations and 421 floggings. In one case, a court of 12 religious leaders sentenced a man to stoning for rape. He was shackled to the ground and stoned to death with cinder blocks hurled by an enthusiastic crowd. Naturally, the media was invited to film the festivities.

http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/somalia/19990504a.htm