U.N. concerned about reports of abuses against civilians in Mozambique

The United Nations expressed its concern about mounting reports of human rights abuses against civilians in northern Mozambique since an escalation of violence last month.

Some of the abuses include allegations of beheadings and the use of child soldiers during attacks by non-state armed groups in the town of Palma in the restive Cabo Delgado province.

FILE PHOTO: Residents in Macomia, Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. PHOTO | AFP

Twelve people, possibly foreigners, were found beheaded in the town following a militant attack on March 24 claimed by the Islamic State, according to a report by Reuters.

The U.N. Secretary General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the global organization was concerned about the situation of civilians who fled the violence and those who remained in the key town following the fighting.

Dujarric also appealed all parties to the conflict to respect international law and not target civilians in what is seen as the biggest escalation of an Islamist insurgency that has plagued the gas-rich province since 2017.

“The United Nations calls on all parties to the conflict in Cabo Delgado to protect civilians. The humanitarian community in Mozambique was already stretched prior to the Palma attacks, having responded to multiple climate emergencies, on top of conflict in Cabo Delgado, in the first months of 2021. Yet, the humanitarian appeal for the Cabo Delgado crisis is currently just one percent funded. More resources are immediately required to meet the needs of people fleeing the violence in Palma,” Dujarric said.

Close to 12,800 people, almost half of them children, fled Palma into neighbouring districts, according to Dujarric, and many more are expected to still be on the move in search of safety and assistance.

Dujarric said humanitarian partners in the country were assisting displaced people at the arrival points and scaling up the ongoing humanitarian response, noting that 500,000 people in the province had received aid.

Dozens of people were killed and several others were injured following the March 24 attack by suspected Islamist militants on Palma, which is close to a major gas development project.

The military managed to retake control of the town killing a “significant” number of militants in the process.

Cgtn.com