HRW: Attacks in northern Mozambique kill 39 since May

Attacks by armed groups in mineral-rich northern Mozambique have killed at least 39 people and displaced more than 1,000 others since May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday.

Cabo Delgado Province, where huge gas reserves were discovered, has witnessed deadly attacks since last October with the assailants targeting police stations, villages and religious institutions.

The region, economically marginalised, is expected to the centre of liquefied natural gas development. It is also rich in precious stones including aquamarines, blue topaz and green tourmalines.

HRW researchers said they saw hundreds of homes and dozens of cattle burnt, and displaced families after visiting Naunde village in Macomia district following an attack on June 5.

The residents told HRW that the attackers also burnt down a mosque and beheaded the local Islamic leader.

The group implicated in the violence is known locally as Al-Sunna wa Jama’a and Al-Shabaab, although it has no known links with the Somalia-based group of the same name.

HRW said, according to local activists, more than 400 homes have been burned down in two weeks in three districts, displacing hundreds of people.

“Armed groups should immediately cease attacking villages and executing people,” said HRW’s Southern African director, Mr Dewa Mavhinga.

“Mozambican authorities should assist those displaced and establish conditions that will allow them to return home voluntarily, in safety and with dignity,” he added.

Earlier this month, rights group Amnesty International urged Mozambique to put to an end the brutal killings of civilians, saying at least 37 people had been killed.