Brutal Terror Group Seeks Power in Somalia

Christian Convert Beheaded by Al-Shabaab Leaders

On the video, the convert, who worked for a local humanitarian agency, is seen on his knees, while several Al-Shabaab leaders stand behind him chanting from the Koran. After the actual beheading, the leaders held up the head to display to the crowd before placing it on the man's stomach and walking away.

The reporter says seeing the incident not only traumatized him, but the community. "Everyone was shocked and scared," he says. "Now everyone in the town knows what will happen to you if you don't follow what Al-Shabaab says."

Related

WATCH: The Valley of Death; US Soldiers on the Front Lines

US Downplays Karzai Offer to Omar

New Al Qaeda Tape Surfaces Despite US Efforts to Block It

For international humanitarian organizations, the on-going conflict in Somalia has turned a difficult situation into a humanitarian disaster. Somalia has not had a functioning government for more than 17 years. The country is currently being governed by a weak, Western-backed "transitional government" being held up by Ethiopian troops, who invaded the country in 2006.

But there are accusations of human rights abuses on both sides. The United Nation's World Food Program was unable to distribute aid to regions the government deemed "terrorist friendly" for several months. And international humanitarian organizations like the United Nations, Doctors without Borders and Care have been forced to pull all international staff out of Somalia due to safety concerns.

Ali says that in the last year Al-Shabaab has specifically targeted foreign aid workers and even locals who work with them. "They are targeting them because they are saying these are not going under our Sharia of Al-Shabaab," he says. "So long as they are there we cannot tolerate them to be with us in one country. That's why they fight the United Nations."

But the humanitarian organizations say it's really the people of Somalia who are paying the ultimate price. It's estimated that more than 1 million people have been internally displaced because of the fighting, and 10,000 civilians have been killed in the last two years. Because of insecurity and piracy attacks, the World Food Program consistently has problems delivering aid, resulting in a warning that if the situation doesn't improve millions of Somalis could starve over the course of the next year. The United Nations now calls Somalia, the "worst humanitarian crisis in Africa," worse than the Democratic Republic of Congo, or even Darfur.