Somalia executes journalist turned Al-Shabaab terrorist

For years, Hassan Hanafi was a trusted source of news in Somalia. As the voice of Holy Quran Radio in Mogadishu, listeners across the capital tuned in to hear him report the latest political news.

But at some point, Hanafi turned his interest from journalism to terrorism -- and joined Al-Shabaab.

He used his media connections to spy on and betray fellow journalists, identifying reporters with negative opinions of Al-Shabaab and facilitating assassinations. He even carried out assassinations himself, a military court ruled.

Why Al-Shabaab is a growing threat 01:37

Hanafi was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On Monday, shortly before a firing squad executed him, Hanafi released a statement saying he wanted to die as a martyr.

"Today, I'm being killed in the way I chose, which was to die for the sake of Allah," he said. "I don't fear execution."

What is Al-Shabaab, and what does it want?

From reporter to militant commander

Hassan Hanafi Hajji Abdi, 36, worked for Holy Quran Radio as a reporter and presenter from 2003 to 2005 before joining Al-Shabaab in late 2006.

Four years later, Al-Shabaab overtook Holy Quran Radio in 2010, allegedly spreading propaganda over the airwaves.

The next year, in 2011, Somali troops and those from the African Union Mission in Somalia forced Al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu.

As it turned out, Hanafi wasn't just a media officer for Al-Shabaab; he was also a senior commander in the battlefields against Somali and AU troops.

He was actually promoted to midlevel militant commander by Ahmed Godane, the now deceased leader of Al-Shabaab. Hanafi was critically injured fighting Somali and AMISOM troops in 2010.

Four years later, Hanafi suffered blast wounds to his head and fled to Kenya, seeking treatment under a fake name. But he was captured and extradited to Somalia.

Plotting to kill journalists

Who are Africa's most dangerous terror groups? 01:55

During his time with Al-Shabaab, Hanafi helped the Al Qaeda-linked terror group kill reporters in south and central Somalia.

Hanafi admitted to killing Sheikh Nur Abkey, an editor at Somali National News Agency. He also confessed to facilitating the deaths of four other journalists, but he denied actually murdering them.

"I personally killed one journalist, and that was Sheikh Nur Abkey, while the four others were murdered by my fellow Al-Shabaab fighters," Hanafi said during his court hearing. "But I contributed to the all assassinations."

But a military court found him guilty for his role in the deaths of the other four journalists: Mahad Ahmed Elmi, Ali Iiman Sharmaake, Said Tahliil Ahmed and Muktar Mohamed Hirabe.

South Sudan: Sanctions delay Riek Machar's return

Juba, South Sudan - The future of South Sudan has been thrown into limbo, as the expected return of South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar has been repeatedly delayed.

Machar was due to return to Juba on Monday and be sworn in as first Vice President of South Sudan.

Since December 2013, South Sudan has been engulfed in a bloody civil war that has killed at least 50,000 and displaced 2.3 million people.

A peace deal signed in August between President Salvia Kiir and Machar laid the framework for peace, but it has yet to be implemented.

Machar's return is widely seen as essential to form a unity government, an important step in ending the country's civil war.

"The return of Machar is a significant moment for the future of South Sudan ... The Transitional Government of National Unity provides the opportunity to unite and stabilise the country," a Western diplomat in South Sudan told Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity around the subject.

Dispute over troop numbers

Machar's arrival in Juba has been delayed because of a disagreement over the number of opposition troops traveling with Machar and his chief of staff, Simon Gatwech Dual, who is under United States and United Nations sanctions.

The opposition has demanded that Dual return to Juba along with the return of Machar.

It was proposed that Dual be flown from Gambella, Ethiopia, by an Ethiopian Airlines flight that was funded by the US government, according to Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of foreign affairs for the SPLA-IO.

Because the US cannot fund an individual under its own and UN sanctions, that plan was scrapped, Gatkuoth and other sources told Al Jazeera.

The UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was then supposed to fly Dual along with 45 troops to Juba on Saturday, April 16, according to Gatkuoth.

"He was ready to be flown with two helicopters to Juba, one was taking 23 (troops) and the other 22 (troops). All of the sudden they were saying the flights were not available until April 20," Gatkuoth said over the phone from Gambella, Ethiopia.

"There is no such plan with UN aircraft," said Ariane Quentier, Spokesperson for UNMISS in an email.

The opposition says that it found a "good samaritan" to charter a plane for Dual on Monday, before the expected arrival of Machar.

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Q&A: The future peace in South Sudan

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Dual was supposed to fly to Juba with 45 troops, and Machar was scheduled to arrive later with 162 troops, as part of his presidential guard, according to Gatkuoth.

None of the planes arrived on Monday, and the county has been thrust into a political waiting game.

South Sudanese Minister of Information and Broadcasting Micheal Makuei Lueth said on Tuesday that Dual's plane did not get clearance to land because it did not go through the proper channel. He said that Dual could only arrive with 40 troops, and Machar cannot travel with any troops.

Machar’s protection force "is already on the ground with all of their armaments. He does not need any additional armed forces or arms in Juba," Lueth said in a statement to journalists on Tuesday.

Both parties agreed to have 1,410 troops located in Juba, Lueth said, and there are already 1,370 opposition soldiers in the capital.

Lueth also said that a joint military committee between the rebels and opposition, known as JMCC, must approve the armament of the 40 troops, and be verified by a group of international monitors, CTSAMM.

As of Tuesday night, the resolution of the disagreement over the number of troops traveling with Dual and Machar is unknown, but a spokesperson for Machar said he "will be arriving (In Juba) on April 20 if all goes well".

Protests against French forces in Mali turn deadly

Demonstrators stormed an airport runway in northern Mali on Monday to protest against arrests by French forces of people suspected of links to Islamist militants who operate in the region, local officials and witnesses said.

Security forces fired warning shots and teargas to deter the mostly female protesters in the town of Kidal who also ransacked and set fire to airport facilities, said a local official, witnesses and the U.N. mission in Mali, MINUSMA.

The protests appear to mark a deterioration in relations between foreign forces and the local community in Kidal, a town at the centre of a separatist movement and violence by Islamist militants, some of whom are linked to al Qaeda.

One person died and six were injured, said Ahmoudane Ag Ikmasse, who represents Kidal in the national assembly. Ikmasse said he was in the capital Bamako but was in contact with people in Kidal.

A doctor in Kidal’s health centre said two died from gunshot wounds.

It was not clear why the airport was targeted or why women were the main participants in the protest.

The U.N. mission was not immediately able to confirm the death toll and it was not clear how many people were involved in the protests. A French military spokesman declined to comment.

“MINUSMA is contact with the Malian authorities and leaders of local communities as well as those from civil society, aiming to ease tensions and understanding the circumstances of the events,” the mission said in a statement.

MINUSMA and French forces have been stationed in northern Mali for about three years since separatists joined jihadists to seize the region from the government in Bamako.

Although France drove jihadists out of key towns in 2013, they have regrouped. In November, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a luxury hotel in the capital, killing 20 people and demonstrating a reach beyond their base.

Protests targeting MINUSMA broke out once before in January 2015.