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Hargeysa, Somaliland, Feb 28, 2009 – Thieves
caused chaos outside a Somaliland mosque late on Thursday when they took
advantage of a power cut to throw a stray cat into the crowd, triggering
a stampede so they could rob worshippers.
Large screens had been set up outside Hargeysa’s packed Ali Matan Mosque
so thousands of people could watch a sermon by Sheikh Moustafa Hagi
Ismael Hassan, one of the Horn of Africa country's most senior Muslim
clerics.
But when a short circuit cast the downtown area into darkness, the
sheikh said gangsters hurled a feral cat into the centre of the crowd,
causing a commotion. During the stampede, the robbers grabbed mobile
phones and money.
"A number of people were wounded, most of them beggars," Hassan told
Reuters. "I've sent them to hospital for treatment."
Suleiman Abdillahi Qafil, who owns a nearby restaurant, told reporters
he saw at least three children hurt in the melee. Tables and chairs
outside his small business were wrecked.
Source: Reuters
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