Mozambique: IS-linked group behind mass child kidnappings

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday released a report claiming that Islamic State-linked militants from the regional Islamist terror group al-Shabab have kidnapped at least 120 children in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province since the start of the year.

HRW says al-Shabab, which is not tied to the Somali terror outfit of the same name, “has ramped up abductions of children” with most “being used for transporting looted goods, forced labor, forced marriages, and taking part in the fighting.”

“Al-Shabab needs to spare children from the conflict,” said HRW’s deputy director for Africa, adding, “Recruiting or using children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities is a war crime.”

Since 2017, the oil-rich Cabo Delgado region has been plagued by jihadist violence that has killed at least 6,000 people, displaced some 1.4 million more and forced the suspension of a giant gas exploration project by TotalEnergies.

Read more: Deutsche Welle