MOGADISHU (Sunatimes) 20 people of the residents in Somalia's central town of Jowhar some 90 km north of the capital have been arrested overnight by militants loyal to Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda inspired group, witnesses told Sunatimes  on Tuesday.

The arrests came after these people who were captured from the streets failed to answer a question about the pillars of Islamic religion.

Most of the detainees were the town's Khat dealers including men and women. Residents told the local media that they see this action as oppressive to their liberty.

It is for the first time in Somalia that the radical militants order people to explain the pillars of Islamic or face punishments.

Earlier the inhabitants in Jowhar were ordered to pay money for helping the ongoing war with the transitional Federal Government and African Union of peacekeepers in Mogadishu.

By A Hersi