The Denis Hurley Peace Institute, an NGO that is part of the South African Cathholic Bishops’ Conference, regularly compiles reports on Northern Mozambique from its sources in Pemba, Mozambique. We co-publish, with the DHPI, those reports here.
COUNTRY UPDATE: 9 September 2020
Johan Viljoen
Nuns kidnapped in Mocimboa da Praia freed
Club of Mozambique reported the following:
The two sisters of the congregation of St. Joseph of Chambery kidnapped on 12 August in Mocímboa da Praia (Mozambique) have been freed. This was announced on Sunday, September 6, by Mgr. Luiz Fernando Lisboa, Bishop of Pemba. “The nuns – highlights the Bishop in a note sent to Agenzia Fides – are safe and sound. Inês and Eliane, who work in the parish of Mocímboa da Praia, after twenty-four days spent in prisons, are back among us”.
The two nuns of Brazilian origin had been kidnapped during a furious attack by al-Shabab militias, on Tuesday 12 August, in Mocímboa da Praia, an important centre in the province of Cabo Delgado. On that occasion, the police and the armed forces were forced to withdraw hastily, leaving the militia free for a few days. During that period, the nuns were kidnapped from their community and taken away. For a few days nothing was known about them, but the national and international authorities immediately mobilised to facilitate their release. The negotiations were successful.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery found themselves in the midst of the fighting and were kidnapped. The nuns have been present in the town of Mocímboa da Praia since 2003. Over the years they have created a dense network of nursery schools and a social centre. Their presence has offered a great contribution to the literacy of local boys and girls. Unfortunately, with the intensification of military actions in the area, many of these schools have had to close and activities have focused mainly on Mocímboa da Praia.
“Let us raise together a hymn of thanksgiving to God – writes Bishop Lisboa – and let us continue to pray for all those who are still missing, displaced and suffering the consequences of violence and war. We ask God’s blessing for Cabo Delgado and to grant the gift of true peace that we need so much!”
The Sisters photographed together after the release of Sisters Eliane and Ines
SA Minister of International Relations and Cooperation addresses SA Parliament on Cabo Delgado
South African Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, addressed the South African Parliament on possible South African involvement in Cabo Delgado on Wednesday 2 September. Pandor lobbied strongly for military intervention yesterday, even though the Maputo regime hasn’t even asked yet for any specific assistance:
“There was a great opportunity for South Africa to import natural gas from the huge reserves that had been discovered in Cabo Delgado, so the security of the province was of great interest to South Africa and its energy diversification strategy; and South Africa’s security agencies needed to enhance their capacities and data-gathering to enable South Africa to make appropriate decisions on how to respond to the insurgency.” She said.
SADC had asked Mozambique for a roadmap on its requirements from the region as long ago as May.
She said once Mozambique had submitted the roadmap South Africa and other SADC members could decide how they could help.
“If it’s more intelligence support, if it’s the SA Navy patrolling the coast, if it is assistance from our Defence Force, we as South Africa stand ready,” Pandor told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on International Relations in a virtual meeting.
“But we must have that indication from the government of Mozambique,” she said, adding that it would not be right, as one MP suggested, for South Africa to send a fact-finding mission to the Cabo Delgado province where the insurgency was happening, as it was up to Mozambique to decide what help it needed.
On May 19 at a summit of SADC’s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation in Harare, regional heads of state had directed SADC’s secretariat to urgently explore ways of sharing intelligence among member states to counter the terrorism in Mozambique and more generally.
Member states had also been urged to support Mozambique in its fight against the terrorist insurgency.
Pandor told the parliamentary committee that the insurgency in northern Mozambique had a range of implications for South Africa. These included:
- People displaced by the insurgency might end up seeking refuge in South Africa. Pandor said the UN had estimated that about 250,000 people or 10% of the population of Cabo Delgado had been displaced by the insurgency;
- There was a great opportunity for South Africa to import natural gas from the huge reserves that had been discovered in Cabo Delgado, so the security of the province was of great interest to South Africa and its energy diversification strategy; and
- South Africa’s security agencies needed to enhance their capacities and data-gathering to enable South Africa to make appropriate decisions on how to respond to the insurgency.
Pandor expressed particular concern about reports of the capture of the port town of Mocimboa da Praia in August. According to security analysts, the town remains in the hands of the insurgents, although Mozambique security forces recently began a campaign to recapture it.
Security analysts, however, have cast doubts on the ability of the South African military to engage successfully in Cabo Delgado. Helmoed Römer Heitman wirtes:“The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) is in deep trouble and will require prompt and serious attention if SA is not to find itself without an effective military.The army lacks the infantry units to handle and sustain any serious contingency beyond its deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and along the border; has good but mostly obsolete equipment from 1980-1990 and some from the 1970s and even 1950s; and lacks key capabilities such as modern air defence systems.
The air force has the Gripen fighter but lacks key weapons for it. It has outstanding helicopters but lacks transport capacity. It lacks maritime surveillance capability and does not have the radars to cover our air borders effectively.
The navy has four modern light frigates (but only one helicopter each) and three modern patrol submarines but lacks the funding to refit and upgrade them as planned. Its other ships are three former strike craft and one support ship (all from the 1980s), three minehunters (1970s) and some small craft.
Worse is that the defence force has not been allocated the funding to close the key capability gaps identified and approved in the Defence Review of 2015, such as air space monitoring and maritime surveillance and also lacks the funding to maintain the equipment it does have. For instance, only one frigate and one submarine have been refitted, and then only the ship systems not the combat systems. Worse still, the defence force lacks the funding to allow pilots to fly enough, its ships to go to sea enough and the army’s units and brigades to train intensively.
Even operational funding is inadequate. The navy has funding for 417 sea days. That translates to one ship at sea all year round plus one other ship for 52 days. That is for a country dependent on seaborne trade and with a coastline of 2,800km.
Co-option of Mozambique Defence Force by Total
Concern is increasing regarding the co-option of the Mozambique Defence Force by Total, following the agreement between Total and the Mozambique government reported on by DHPI in our country update last week. On 9 September Plataformamedia.com reported that the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (SDS) present in Cabo Delgado will be fed by the French multinational Total. The scarcity of food for these intervention forces has been highlighted by the combatants themselves. However, now there seems to be an agreement between the government and Total, and the company will already be receiving proposals from suppliers.
“Total will finance, in a first phase, all food for the military bases of Afungi, namely the JFT main base ”, the base of the UIR (Rapid Intervention Unit) and 5 more patrol bases in the region. In a second phase, the provision of “catering” to the military that fights the “insurgency” will cover the military bases of Macomia, Mocímboa da Praia and Mueda “, reads the news.
Several combatants from the Defence and Security Forces have joined the insurgents in northern Mozambique due to poor conditions. Thus, the government, together with Total, tries to avoid further defections
Amnesty International raises concern over reported atrocities by Mozambique troops
The Mozambique government must launch an independent and impartial investigation into torture and other grave violations committed by security forces in Cabo Delgado, Amnesty International said on 9 September after verifying gruesome footage from the region showing crimes against detainees.
According to the Amnesty International report: “The videos and pictures show the attempted beheading, torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners; the dismemberment of alleged opposition fighters; possible extrajudicial executions; and the transport and dt weeks there has been an increase in violence in northern Mozambique, where fighters from a group known locally as Al-Shabaab have been attacking members of the security forces and villagers.
“The horrific videos and photos we analyzed are evidence of the serious human rights violations and shocking violence that has been taking place in Cabo Delgado, away from the international spotlight,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
“This behaviour flouts fundamental principles of humanity. The abuses attributed to the group known as Al-Shabaab can never justify further violations by the security forces of Mozambique.
“The government of Mozambique must now order a swift, transparent and impartial investigation to bring all those responsible for such crimes to justice in fair trials.”
The horrific videos and photos we analyzed are evidence of the serious human rights violations and shocking violence that has been taking place in Cabo Delgado. The soldiers committing the atrocities in the videos analyzed by Amnesty International are wearing the uniforms of the Mozambique Armed Defense Forces (FADM) and the Mozambique Rapid Intervention Police (PIR). In several videos, the soldiers refer to their captives as Al-Shabaab, Arabic for ‘the youth’, a common local name for the Islamist armed group in Cabo Delgado [rather than the group of the same name in Somalia].
Amnesty International is calling on authorities to immediately order security forces to cease all ill-treatment of detainees and other human rights violations in Cabo Delgado and investigate and prosecute all those responsible for the torture or extrajudicial executions of detainees.
Amnesty International researchers obtained five videos and three photos from sources within Mozambique. The digital materials were verified by the organization’s Crisis Evidence Lab.
Soldiers in the videos wear two different uniforms. Most wear the green and brown ‘lizard’ camouflage, black boots, tan web gear, and yellow-and-black shoulder tabs of FADM, while others wear the lighter green uniform of the PIR. The soldiers carry older Kalashnikov rifles and wear flak jacket-style body armour, which matches that normally worn by FADM in the region.
In addition, they speak Portuguese and Shangaan, a language from southern Mozambique. They also reference recent fighting in Mocímboa da Praia, making it highly likely that the videos were filmed in or near Cabo Delgado in the first half of 2020. However, Amnesty International has so far been unable to independently geolocate the precise location of the filming.
Four videos depict the torture of detainees. In three videos, there are three victims – possibly the same three victims, although it is unclear. The three prisoners are tied with their arms behind their back, and then kicked and beaten with sticks or rifles by several soldiers. Meanwhile, other soldiers mock the prisoners and encourage the assault. The prisoners are either completely naked or stripped naked the waist down.
In another video, after the beatings, a soldier leans down and uses a knife to cut off a victim’s ear. He then places the ear on the ground in front of the victim’s face, as surrounding soldiers cheer.
Another video shows one victim being similarly tortured, as the soldiers say: “Let’s light him up! Let’s pour gasoline on him and light him up, pour some gasoline on him, he must burn!”. The burning, if it occurred, is not captured in the video.
A fifth video and a related photograph reveals how some victims’ bodies are mistreated after death. The photo shows approximately 15 bodies in the back of a pick-up truck – all bound, blindfolded and half-naked – with many bearing new bruises and open wounds.
The video shows bodies in a mass grave, and soldiers going from body to body, sawing with a long knife to slit the throats of live victims or attempt to behead the corpses. In one case, the victim may have still been alive during the decapitation, as one man is heard crying for his life while a soldier yells back in Portuguese: “Ah, shut up!”.
“The unspeakable cruelty and inhumanity displayed in these videos has no place in any society of order, rule of law and human rights. The Mozambique government has an obligation to immediately launch an independent and impartial investigation to bring those responsible to justice,” said Deprose Muchena.
