Anti-jihadist forces accused of rights abuses

Security forces in Mozambique waging the fight against jihadists in the country's north are guilty of ‘serious abuses’ of human rights including summary executions, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has noted. It said witness statements gathered since August proved police had carried out dozens of executions and arbitrarily detained people suspected of participating in the insurgency that has claimed dozens of lives. ‘The Mozambican authorities should take immediate action to end abuses by their security forces and punish those responsible,’ said Dewa Mavhinga, HRW’s Southern Africa director. Jihadist fighters have terrorised remote communities in the gas-rich and Muslim-majority Cabo Delgado region for more than a year, staging brazen gun and knife attacks on civilians. President Filipe Nyusi has deployed heavy reinforcements to the region and vowed to eradicate the extremist group. ‘Abuses by insurgents never justify violating people's rights, and the security forces should be protecting the people in Cabo Delgado, not abusing them,’ added Mavhinga.

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