Mozambique: video of abuse attributed to soldiers sparks outrage
The conflict in northern Mozambique has already left 1,500 dead and more than 250,000 displaced.
Emidio JOSINE / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
A video of great violence in Mozambique, showing a young pregnant woman undressed, beaten and gunned down by men in uniform, arouses outrage from NGOs and protests from the authorities who accuse the insurgents in the north of the country.
Publicity
Read more
Amnesty International calls for an independent investigation and implicates the Mozambican army.
This is not the first time that the NGO denounces the abuses of Mozambican soldiers.
According to Amnesty International, under the guise of fighting the Islamist rebels al-Shabab in the province of Cabo Delgado in the north, who are believed to be hiding among the population, human rights violations are numerous, whether they be summary executions or acts of tortures.
Jihadists disguised as soldiers?
On the video, broadcast on September 7, the young pregnant woman is beaten and insulted with cries of "
you are a shebab
".
The men in uniform then empty their magazines on her: 36 bullet holes were found on her body.
Faced with the outcry, the Mozambican interior minister declared that he was opening an investigation but refuted the guilt of the army.
According to him, the murderers are jihadists disguised as soldiers and the video would be a propaganda tool to discredit the power.
For three years, northern Mozambique has been plagued by an
insurgency
in this province of Cabo Delgado, and the authorities are struggling to regain control in an area that is home to important gas installations.
This conflict has already left 1,500 dead and more than 250,000 displaced.
► To read also
: Mozambique: the local branch of ISIS ravages two northern cities
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Mozambique
Shebabs
Justice
Human rights
On the same subject
Terrorist threat in Mozambique at center of SADC summit
SADC summit: timid support for Mozambique under terrorist threat
Mozambique: local ISIS branch ravages two northern towns