At least 50 people have been beheaded by militant Islamists in northern Mozambique, according to several reports received on Monday.
Terrorists allegedly linked to Islamic State (ISIS) have carried out a series of attacks on the country’s villages in recent days. In at least one village, a football pitch was turned into an “execution ground”, where the attackers cut and mutilated the body.
Mozambique’s police commander-in-chief Bernardino Raphael said during a briefing on Monday that the attackers had abducted women and children and set houses on fire.
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On August 24, 2019, in the village of Aldia da Paz, just outside Makomia in northern Mozambique, the recently attacked people gathered for a meeting. (Photo by Marco Langari / AFP) (Getty Images by Marco Langari / Photo by AFP)
“After they burned down the houses, they turned to the population who fled to the woods and started with their aggressive actions,” Rafael told Al Jazeera.
The report said that the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province has been the site of several attacks since 2017. As many as 2,000 people have been killed in the conflict, while about 430,000 have been rendered homeless.
In a recent attack, gunmen chanted “Allahu Akbar” and set fire to houses when they attacked Nanjaba village on Friday night, the government-owned Mozambique News Agency quoted survivors as saying, according to the BBC.
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According to the news agency, a separate group of fighters attacked the village of Muatid, where they beheaded more than 50 people.
According to the BBC, the Mozambican government has appealed for international help to stop the uprising, as many call for a peaceful end to the conflict.
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Last week, at least 40 people fleeing extremist violence in northern Mozambique sank their boats.
The Associated Press contributes to this report
