The Mozambican government accuses terrorist groups of using child soldiers in attacks in Cabo Delgado and calls for the intervention of the international community to help the country fight this scourge.
The terrorist groups responsible for the attacks in Cabo Delgado are said to have used child soldiers, but it is not known for sure how many children were forced to leave school and join the terrorist group.
The information has been confirmed by the Mozambican executive, and the Secretary of State for Cabo Delgado, António Supeia, has asked for the intervention of the international community to help the country in the process of integrating and rehabilitating these children.
“It is urgent to recover the child soldiers, indoctrinated by the terrorists. For this reason we have called for the support and collaboration of various partners, especially religious denominations and other organisations specialising in this area,” he said.
Cabo Delgado’s Secretary of State, António Supeia, also called for the promotion of forgiveness, in a year marked by the deactivation of the main centres of insurgency and the return of a large part of the displaced population to their areas of origin.
“We are left with the noble task of knowing how to forgive, tolerate, accept, welcome and reintegrate unwary and repentant citizens into society, with a view to achieving peace and reconciliation,” he concluded.
Since 2017, the province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency with some attacks claimed by the fundamentalist group Islamic State. The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.
The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
