UN chief expresses ‘shock’ over Mozambique killings

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UN chief expresses ‘shock’ over Mozambique killings

9:28 CAT | 11 Nov 2020

Armed militant group believed to be affiliated with Daesh/ISIS beheads over 50 people in Southern African country

The UN secretary-general has expressed shock over recent reports of beheading, and kidnapping of women and children in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, his spokesman said late Tuesday.

Antonio Guterres urged authorities in the Southern African country “to conduct an investigation into these incidents, and to hold those responsible to account.”

He called ”on all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.”

The UN chief reiterated the commitment to support the people and Mozambique government in addressing the humanitarian needs and preventing the spread of violent extremism.

An armed militant group attacked several villages in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province between Nov. 6 and 8, decapitated more than 50 people and kidnapped others, including women and children.

The militants had turned a football field in the Muatide village into an execution ground, where people fleeing from a village were gathered and massacred, according to local media.

The militia, believed to be affiliated with the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization, has wreaked havoc in northern Mozambique since late 2017, killing hundreds, displacing communities, and capturing towns.

The group is locally known as al-Shabaab, but has no established links with the extremist group in Somalia. It aims to establish an Islamic caliphate in northern Mozambique, where it has exploited people’s desperation of poverty and unemployment to recruit in large numbers.

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Mozambique

Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General is shocked over recent reports of massacres by non-State armed groups in several villages in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, including the reported beheading and kidnapping of women and children. He strongly condemns this wanton brutality.

The Secretary-General urges the country’s authorities to conduct an investigation into these incidents, and to hold those responsible to account. He calls on all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.

The Secretary-General reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support the people and Government of Mozambique in urgently addressing immediate humanitarian needs and efforts to uphold human rights, promote development and prevent the spread of violent extremism.

Source: Anadolu / UN News