Mozambique: Police investigate accusations officers tortured civilians

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Mozambique: Police investigate accusations officers tortured civilians

4:39 CAT | 26 May 2022

Photo: Noticias

Mozambican police inspectors are investigating accusations against officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) for alleged torture of civilians during the fight against armed groups in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, the police announced.

Sources from the Mozambican Police (PRM), cited by Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias, said that the investigation was ordered by the general commander of the police force, Bernardino Rafael.

Rafael ordered the investigations after receiving complaints from members of the public about torture allegedly inflicted on civilians by UIR officers fighting the armed rebellion in the northern districts of Cabo Delgado province.

The people made the accusations during a public meeting in Macomia district, one of the province’s districts affected by armed violence.

The UIR officers are accused of physical aggression and extortion against people.

“Those who are deviating from their mission to protect and who harm the population should be expelled from the police force and stay in their homes,” Bernardino Rafael said at the meeting.

Rafael said that “severe measures” would be taken against officers involved in the ill-treatment of civilians.

“We want to see the population proud of the work of their police, whose main mission is to protect them,” he declared.

On the occasion, the police commander-general announced that the UIR would be withdrawn from the village of Macomia and placed in advanced positions near the combat line.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

There are 784,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has allowed areas where there was a rebel presence to recover.

Source: Lusa