At least 120 children have been kidnapped by jihadist insurgents in northern Mozambique in recent days, Human Rights Watch said, warning of a rise in abductions in the country’s troubled Cabo Delgado province.
The children are reportedly being used by an Islamic State–linked group known locally as al-Shabab to transport looted goods, perform forced labor, and in some cases serve as child soldiers or be forced into marriage.
Mozambique has been battling the Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado since 2017. Government forces have struggled to contain the violence, relying on support from troops sent by Rwanda, South Africa, and other regional partners.
Human Rights Watch said there had been a resurgence of attacks and child kidnappings in the last two months and called on Mozambique’s government to do more to find the children and prevent further abductions. The problems in Cabo Delgado were largely overshadowed by Mozambique’s deadly and long-running post-election protests last year. Cabo Delgado has also been battered by several recent cyclones and hurt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid.
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