A group affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is abducting boys in northern Mozambique and using them to fight against government forces, in violation of an international ban on the use of child soldiers, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Wednesday.
HRW stated that an armed group known as Al-Shabab, an ISIS-affiliated group in Mozambique separate from Somalia’s Al-Shaabab, is recruiting boys as young as 13 to carry out attacks and looting. The group looted shops and warehouses in the town of Makomiya from May 10 through May 12, where militants robbed local residents, exchanged fire with government forces, and blocked the main road. The armed group held the town for 24 hours, killing 10 people, most of them soldiers.
Local residents, as well as two humanitarian workers, confirmed the presence of children among the militants to HRW. Most of the militants were reportedly children and young people who spoke local languages.
According to parents, witnesses and survivors interviewed by HRW in 2021, al-Shabab abducted boys, trained them at its bases and used them as soldiers. The armed group also reportedly abducted children to turn them into fighters. Children received military training, Islamic lessons and instructions on how to attack villages.
The UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits the recruitment for military purposes of children under the age of 18 by non-state armed groups.
The recent attack is a part of the Islamist insurgency in Mozambique, led by jihadist groups including Ahlu al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah (ASJ), Ansar al-Sunnah, ISIS–Mozambique and al-Shabab, that is aiming to transform the country into an Islamic state by enforcing Sharia law. The conflict began in 2017 when militants attacked police stations, killing several people and capturing others. The conflict escalated in 2020, with rebel leader Mariano Nhongo vowing to continue the armed rebellion. In March, militants attacked a town, targeting military units and police stations. The insurgency remains an ongoing threat in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
