Cabo Delgado, 12 January, 2023 / 11:45 am (ACI Africa).
The Mozambican government has launched Operation Vulcan IV in Cabo Delgado province to wipe out insurgents in the embattled northern region of Mozambique, a move that the Catholic charity foundation, Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), says may affect innocent civilians.
In a Wednesday, January 11 interview with ACI Africa, the Director of DHPI, Johan Viljoen, said that past military offensives in Cabo Delgado have seen innocent civilians suffer at the hands of the military.
“The fear that civilians will be killed in the operation stems from the fact that the Mozambican army in the past has been found guilty of gross atrocities. This was highlighted two years ago in a report by Amnesty International,” Mr. Viljoen said.
He added, “If the military just arrives in a place and starts looking for the so-called terrorists, the danger there is always that they will round up every young man they can find and detain them.”
According to the DHPI Director, indiscriminate hunting down of alleged insurgents raises the level of violence altogether and potentially puts the people in crossfire.
