Militants ban school bells in Somali town

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents and a school official say hardline militants in Somalia have banned school bells in one southern town because they say they are un-Islamic.

One resident in the town of Jowhar, Mohamud Aw-Abdi, says the militant group al-Shabab told school principals the bells sound like church bells. No churches are known to operate openly in Somalia.

One school principal says teachers now beat tables and doors to signal the start or end of class.

The ban on bells is the latest unpopular order from the Islamists, who also have banned bras and movies. Militants this week banned Mogadishu radio stations from playing music.

Militants in the past have carried out amputations, stonings and lashings.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.

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