Al-qaida allies behead seven Somalis

BAIDOA, Somalia, July 10 (UPI) -- Seven Somalis, charged, but not tried, were beheaded Friday by Al-Shabab militants in the south-central Somali town of Baidoa, relatives of the victims said.

The relatives told the Voice of America the charges ranged from being Christians to spying for the Transitional Federal Government. Navi Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced the beheadings as violations of Somali and international law, and possibly as war crimes.

Baidoa fell to al-Shabab insurgents in January. They follow the ultra-conservative Wahabi tenet of Islam and imposed strict Islamic law.

Western intelligence officials believe the group serves as a proxy army for the al-Qaida terrorist organization, the report said.

Al-Shabab controls large areas of southern Somalia with an allied opposition group called Hisbul Islam. They attacked government forces in the capital, Mogadishu, in May.

Since then hundreds have been killed and thousands forced from their homes and the Somali government has requested international help to stay in control.