Unmarried couple stoned to death in north Mali

An unmarried couple was stoned to death in public in Mali, in the first such incident since jihadi groups were driven out of the region.

According to a reports appearing in the Guardian, Jihadis seized key northern cities in Mali in March 2012, and though they were driven out by a French-led military intervention in 2013, Islamist groups continue to make their presence felt with frequent attacks on domestic and foreign forces.

The Islamists reportedly dug two holes, where they put the man and the woman and then they were stoned to death.

The execution happened in Taghlit, close to Aguelhok in the Kidal region, on Tuesday.

A local official said the ringleaders had accused the unmarried couple of violating Islamic law.

During their brief control of key towns in the north, jihadist groups imposed a version of Sharia law which forced women to wear veils and set whipping and stoning as punishment for transgressions.