Mozambique: Attorney-general creates team to investigate terrorism

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Mozambique: Attorney-general creates team to investigate terrorism

8:15 CAT | 28 Apr 2021

File photo: Lusa

Mozambique’s attorney general will create a specific area for the investigation of terrorism, said the annual information of the attorney general, Beatriz Buchili.

“As part of the review of the organic law of the office, we plan to create a specific area within the Specialised Department for Criminal Matters to investigate and prosecute complex crimes, including terrorism,” the document said in the chapter on terrorism.

The commitment is assumed in the annual information on the control of legality that Beatriz Buchili will present on Wednesday and Thursday in parliament.

The new entity, the text continues, shows the relevance of adopting a national plan to combat terrorism and violent extremism, bringing together various initiatives, taking into account the various components of this type of criminality.

The attorney general’s assessment of this crime stresses that “the crime of terrorism cannot be tackled separately from other types of crime that are related to it, such as trafficking in arms, drugs and people”.

The illegal exploitation of mineral, forest and wildlife resources, money laundering and financing terrorism are other facets of crimes associated with violent extremism, said Beatriz Buchili.

“Terrorists often have members and cells in several countries to coordinate and communicate their operations, receive and transfer financial resources and other assets as a way to support their activities and use international trafficking networks to raise funds or acquire weapons,” Buchili added.

Beatriz Buchili said that in 2020, 58 defendants were charged with committing terrorism, including 47 men and 11 women, of Mozambican and Iranian nationality, out of a total of 13 cases brought.

In 2019, 28 defendants were arraigned for alleged terrorism.

“We appeal, mainly to young people, not to join these criminal groups or provide any support and assistance to them, and should collaborate with the authorities in the efforts to combat terrorism,” the information reads.

Concerning the judiciary, the document continues. The focus is on boosting institutional capacity by increasing human resources and training them in technical, tactical and technological areas.

Armed groups have been terrorising the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State, in a wave of violence that has led to over 2,500 deaths according to the ACLED conflict registration project and 714,000 displaced people according to the Mozambican government.

The most recent attack was on 24 March against the town of Palma, causing dozens of deaths and wounded.

The Mozambican authorities regained control of the town. Still, the attack led oil company Total to abandon indefinitely the gas project site scheduled to start production in 2024. Many of Mozambique’s economic growth expectations for the next decade are anchored.

Source: Lusa