THE Juba river region, in Somalia, is hard country. Women are regularly eaten by crocodiles while fetching dirty water. The sandy farmland is either in drought or flooded. And the militants known as the Shabab, who rule the area, exact brutal justice. Your correspondent had to turn back from the town of Wajid (see map) this week because, within, a man was being beheaded. A day later, a clan leader was shot dead. As The Economist went to press, three more were to be beheaded in Wajid, and two more had suffered the same fate in a nearby village.

Read the full article | Print this article