Violence in Mozambique: The UN expresses concern

The United nations high commissioner on human Rights has expressed concern regarding reports of escalating violence in northern Mozambique, where police say Islamist militants beheaded more than 50 people in recent days.

Michelle Bachelet said “ the situation is miserable both for those trapped in conflict-affected areas, with just hardly any means of surviving, and for those displaced across the province and beyond.

Many that have survived have been deprived of basic needs and are at risk of armed groups which  murder, sexually assaulted, captured or forcefully recruited. Those who flee may attempt to die.

Since 2017, security forces in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado have been fighting against Islamist insurgents in an uprising that has displaced thousands of civilians. In 2019, the local insurgent group vowed loyalty to the Islamic State.