By Aditi Parashar ’22
Staff Writer
Content Warning: This article describes graphic violence and firearm use.
A recent video of a woman being shot at by men in military uniform sparked outrage in Mozambique after it was circulated widely on social media throughout the week of Sept. 14. The video shows a naked woman being beaten by sticks on a countryside road. She is then shot over 30 times. The video ends with one of the men making a victory sign and saying in Portuguese, “We've just killed Al-Shabaab,” which is the jihadi group operating in the region.
The government of Mozambique condemned the act and claimed the violence was meted out by jihadi troops impersonating military personnel rather than the military itself. The insurgents in the region have done this in the past, according to the BBC. The government has promised to carry out an investigation of the “horrifying” video, reports Africanews.
Interior Minister Amade Miquidade said, “The macabre acts that have been publicized are actions of subversion aimed at pitting the people against the forces that protect them. There is no relationship between those images with the defense and security forces.”
However, Amnesty International noted that the men in the video were wearing Mozambique Armed Defense Force uniforms, making them appear as if they were possible members of the FADM. They have also shed light on additional details. They claim the events in the video took place on Sept. 7 in the town of Awasse in the Cabo Delgado province. Amnesty International, while asking for a thorough investigation to be carried out, stated that the killing demonstrates “a repeated and unrelenting pattern of crimes being committed by the Mozambican armed forces.”
These allegations come amid heightened scrutiny on the Mozambican army after Amnesty International published a report claiming that the army was carrying out human rights violations in the region, such as executing civilians and dumping bodies into mass graves. These allegations came after it received video footage and photographs from its sources in the country.
David Matsinhe, the Lusophone regional researcher for Southern Africa at Amnesty International, told AllAfrica, “People on the ground have been sending us numerous complaints of such violations since 2017. It just hasn't been in the spotlight.”
Africanews reported that the military forces have been fighting to take back control in northern Cabo Delgado since the extremist insurgency began three years ago. This province is one of Africa’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects, which makes it essential to the region. The rising violence in the area poses a threat to the billion-dollar investments by international firms for the development of gas projects. Al-Shabaab has escalated the violence since the beginning of the year, when a bid to establish an Islamist caliphate in the area was set forth.
“Although the region is naturally rich in natural resources, the story is not the same for social markers such as employment and literacy rates, which remain incredibly low,” said Maha Ahmed ’21, an international relations major. “Additionally, foreign investments imply that the cheapest labor must be hired. This has a direct impact on the youth of the area who are then denied access to jobs that essentially exist to exploit the resources of their very land.”
“I think you can see the frustrations of unemployed youth who have been denied opportunities in the ongoing conflict in the region,” Ahmed continued.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project estimates that since the militants have carried out continuous attacks on the region’s towns and villages, more than 1,500 people have been killed while 250,000 have been displaced. Additionally, the total number of fatalities on either side stands at 1,854. Human Rights Watch reports that no one has been held to account for any of these abuses.
Professor of Africana Studies and Economics Lucas Wilson said, “There is no population more vulnerable, more dependent on respect for rights and dignity by those in authority than a population of incarcerated people. Based on the information I’ve read, the guards should face charges in Mozambique and in an international criminal court. I’m sorry this has happened and attention and care is needed to restore trust throughout society.”