The Mozambican government on Monday denounced a video showing the brutal execution of a naked woman by men wearing military uniforms who suspected her of being an insurgent.
The video posted on social media shows what appears to be a group of Mozambican servicemen yelling at a totally stripped woman who they then beat repeatedly with sticks before shooting her on the side of the road.
"You are part of al-Shabab"
, we hear the torturers shouting in Portuguese at the address of this woman, referring to a jihadist group which in 2017 rebelled against the government.
The Mozambican Ministry of Defense condemned these
“horrific”
images and called for an investigation to be opened to verify their authenticity.
"The defense and security forces reiterate their opposition to any barbaric act violating human rights,"
the ministry reacted in a statement on Monday.
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Several videos showing soldiers violently attacking prisoners suspected of having links with al-Shabab were revealed by Amnesty International in May.
The human rights organization then accused the Mozambican security forces of torture against suspected militants in the Cabo Delgado region (north) where the rebellion is active.
The government rejected the accusations last week, saying the violence was carried out by jihadist rebels.
The armed forces are struggling to regain control of Cabo Delgado, where one of the largest liquefied natural gas production projects in Africa is located.
Jihadist rebels have launched a series of attacks on villages and towns in this region over the past three years, which have left more than 1,500 dead and 250,000 displaced.
On August 12, they managed to take control of the strategic port of Micimboa da Praia.