Mozambique: Niassa court begins proceedings against 15 suspected rebels

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Mozambique: Niassa court begins proceedings against 15 suspected rebels

2:11 CAT | 07 Nov 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: DW]

The Judicial Court of Niassa province, in northern Mozambique, has opened proceedings against 15 people suspected of being involved with rebel groups terrorizing northern Mozambique, an official source said.

“This is a group indicted for the recruitment of people to the ranks of terrorist groups,” said Óscar Basílio, judge-president of the Judicial Court of Niassa, quoted today by Radio Mozambique.

Basílio did not provide more details about the cases, but observed that those indicted included young people recruited by the rebel groups that have terrorised northern Mozambique for five years.

Niassa, which neighbours Cabo Delgado province, in December recorded armed incursions attributed by the authorities to the rebels coming from Cabo Delgado. The attacks left a trail of destruction, with the exact number of deaths still unknown.

Cabo Delgado province has been terrorized by armed violence since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

The insurgency has led to a year-long military response with the support of Rwanda and the SADC, freeing districts next to the gas projects, but new waves of attacks have taken place in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.

In five years, the conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and cost 4,000 lives, according to the ACLED conflict registry project.

Source: Lusa