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Monday, March 8, 2021

Mozambique denies Cabo Delgado "war crime” allegations

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Mozambique, Bertolino Capitine, denied, this Sunday (March 7), the accusations by Amnesty International (AI) of “war crimes” being committed in the fight against terrorists in Cabo Delgado.

General Capitine vehemently rejected the accusations brought by Amnesty, which holds the armed forces and a private South African security group responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians. It was the first official reaction by a Mozambican official since the Amnesty report was published last Tuesday (March 2).

The General also denied AI’s allegations about the government’s hiring of the military company Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) to strengthen its ranks after losing “a series of battles” in the north of the country.

“The report has some untruths,” Bertolino told reporters during a trip to Cabo Delgado of  press professionals organised by the Government.

“Our mission is to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity and we cannot abuse the community,” he added, noting that the report had been written by “people who have never been [in the region]”.

AI has documented several alleged human rights violations that would have been perpetrated by the Mozambican Armed Defense and Security Forces (FADM), including summary executions of blindfolded villagers and of a naked woman, videotaped.

The international NGO added that DAG mercenaries used helicopters to fire and throw grenades indiscriminately at crowds. The DAG has announced that it will investigate the charges.

An armed group known locally as “Al-Shabaab” is also accused of acts of extreme violence, including numerous beheadings and desecration of corpses. Terrorists have launched a series of attacks on cities and villages in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado since 2017.

The violence left at least 2,600 people dead, about half of whom were civilians, according to the US NGO ” Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)”.

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