The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has expressed its “serious concerns” about the increase in child abductions by rebel groups in Cabo Delgado, warning that the victims are forced to perform combat duties.
“Unicef is seriously concerned about the recent increase in cases of child abduction by non-state armed groups in the province of Cabo Delgado,” the UN agency said in an official statement.
The last case in which children were kidnapped by rebels in Cabo Delgado occurred on 23 January, when a rebel group attacked the village of Mumu, in Mocímboa, more than 30 kilometres from the district headquarters.
According to Unicef, children who are kidnapped by rebels have been forced to perform “combat duties”, a “serious violation of the rights of minors”.
“Unicef calls for the immediate release and handing over to the civilian authorities of abducted children, and for the immediate cessation of abductions, recruitment and use of children, which constitute serious violations of children’s rights,” reads the Unicef document, which adds that in response to the increase in cases, the agency is “reinforcing child protection activities in affected areas”.
In the attack on 23 January, in addition to the kidnapping of seven children, one person was killed by the rebels, local sources told Lusa at the time.
“They were in a bigger group, they started shooting and they killed one of our brothers and took other people, mostly children,” said a local source.
After the attack, the Mumu community informed the Local Force (a paramilitary group which is made up of Frelimo veterans who fought for ten years against the Portuguese colonial regime until independence), which began patrolling the area to try to contain the rebels’ attacks.
Mocímboa da Praia was where armed groups carried out their first attack in October 2017. For a long time, the place was described as the rebels’ “base”.
After months in rebel hands, Mocímboa da Praia was looted and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as the power, water, communications and hospital systems.
After the first signs of security stabilisation in recent years, it was also one of the priority points for infrastructure recovery.
At the time, the authorities estimated that around 62,000 people had left the coastal town due to the conflict, most notably the mass flight that occurred after the intensification of rebel actions in June 2020.
Mocímboa da Praia is located 70 kilometres south of the construction area of the natural gas exploration project in Afungi, Palma, led by TotalEnergies.
Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.
The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May 2024, on the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents sacking the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambique defence and security forces and Rwandan soldiers, who are supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.
Lusa
