Mozambique has denied alleged human rights abuses by the security forces and has insisted that abuses were committed solely by Islamist insurgents impersonating soldiers.
According to Amnesty International, they have video footage and pictures of soldiers in the uniforms of the Mozambique Armed Defence Forces and the Mozambique Rapid Intervention Police committing atrocities in the Cabo Delgado province.
These abuses include "beheading, torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners; the dismemberment of alleged opposition fighters; possible extrajudicial executions; and the transport and discarding of a large number of corpses into apparent mass graves,”
Mozambique’s defence ministry has denied Amnesty's report on Thursday, saying militants regularly impersonated soldiers.
Spokesman Colonel Omar Saranga, stated, “The Defence and security forces reiterate that they do not agree with any form of torture beheading attempts, mistreatment of illegal acts.”
Cabo Delgado, Mozambique has faced several militant attacks with insurgents seizing key towns, hitting military and other key targets. Moreover, militants with links to Islamic State have increased their attacks in Mozambique this past year alarming other countries across southern Africa.
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