Two young women have been publicly executed by Somali Islamist group al-Shabab, reports say. They were shot dead by firing squad in a square in the central city of Beledweyne. The pair, who were aged 15 and 18, were sentenced to death on Wednesday after being accused of spying, AP reports. Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991. The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab and its allies control much of the country's south. The two young women were named by AP as 18-year-old Ayan Mohamed Jama, and Huriyo Ibrahim, 15. Al-Shabab militiamen walked through the town's streets, telling residents about the executions by loudspeaker and ordering everyone to attend, reports the agency. The militia group's regional commander, Sheikh Yusuf Ali Ugas, said the two had been found guilty of spying and being what he described as "enemies of Islam". But a woman who saw the execution, Sadia Osman, said one of the young women had said she was innocent of the charges, AP reports. One eyewitness described how people in the crowd were shocked by the sight of the killings. "One of the women who saw the execution today collapsed and lost consciousness after she saw the cruel way the girls were shot," Da'ud Ahmed said. Somalia's UN-backed government authority only controls parts of Mogadishu and a few other areas, although it has been gaining ground from al-Shabab in recent weeks. Credit: BBC