JOWHAR, Somalia (AFP) – Hardline Somali Islamic courts on Saturday punished 11 teenagers with 40 lashes each in public after they confessed to un-Islamic behaviour, including smoking marijuana, pretending to be Islamic militia, violence and looting.

The 11 visibly terrified youths were lined up on open ground in the town of Jowhar, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) northwest of the capital, and whipped under the supervision of Islamic courts officials, who have started to implement the Sharia laws.

The event was witnessed by an AFP correspondent.

The court, chaired by an hardline panel of sheikhs in Jowhar, said the teenagers were convicted after four confessed to smoking marijuana, four admitted looting and destroying government buildings and three acknowledged violence as well as pretending to be Islamic court officials in order to carry out extortion of the public.

“This is the start of a new era and we will continue to carry out the Sharia in Jowhar town and all parts of Middle Shabelle region. We do not have any reverse gear. It is our responsibility to make sure Sharia laws are respected,” said Sheikh Mohamoud Jiliale, an official of the Jowhar Islamic tribunal.

Officials said the tribunals, which have vowed to restore law and order in the shattered African Horn of Africa country, will ensure Sharai law prevails in the country, which has been ruled by warlords for the last 15 years.

“Some of the lashed teenagers have been charged with looting while others have been caught using drugs including marijuana,” said Sheikh Mohamoud Mo’alim Hassan, the head of Jowhar Islamic courts, which oversees implementation of Sharia in Middle Shabelle region.

One of the teenagers expressed remorse for the crime and vowed never to repeat it.

“It is embarrassing to be beaten in public. I will never repeat this behaviour,” said the youth who requested to remain unnamed.

On June 19, the Islamists imposed Sharia law in Jowhar, making good their vow to bring Islamic theocracy to the shattered Horn of Africa nation, after they routed US-backed warlords from the capital and other large swathes of southern Somalia.

On Friday, around 20 Islamic militiamen raided a wedding party in Mogadishu, flogged a woman and confiscated musical instruments as they enforced a ban on band music in public ceremonies.

On Wednesday, a senior cleric announced that any Somali Muslim who failed to perform daily prayers would be killed in accordance with Koranic law.

The requirement for Muslims to observe the five-times daily ritual on penalty of death appears to confirm the hardline nature of the increasingly powerful Sharia courts in the capital.

It was not immediately clear who would enforce the regulation, or how. But the courts have well-armed militias that routed a US-backed alliance of warlords in June after four months of bloody battles for control of Mogadishu.

Militiamen shot and killed two people in central Somalia early this week while quelling a protest against a ban on watching the World Cup at a local cinema, and have in the past been tasked with carrying out court rules.