Somalia's government has executed a soldier and a defense ministry worker who were sentenced to death by a military tribunal in separate murder cases.

A firing squad shot the men on Monday behind police headquarters in Mogadishu, where the duo had been blindfolded and tied to a post.

A government official tells VOA the soldier had been found guilty of killing a fellow soldier on May 5.

The tribunal sentenced the defense worker in July for killing the driver of a ministry director.

Somalia set up the military tribunal in August of 2009. Tribunal chairman Hassan Mohammed Mahamud tells VOA that since then, “deliberate killings” in Mogadishu have declined.

Mahamud said more tribunals will be set up throughout Mogadishu now that the government has seized the capital from al-Shabab militants.

Earlier this month, al-Shabab withdrew from Mogadishu after an offensive by government forces and African Union troops. Pro-government forces continue to battle al-Shabab in other parts of Somalia.