ARMY INVESTIGATES HORRIFIC VIDEO WHICH SHOWS MEN IN MILITARY UNIFORM BEAT, MURDER NAKED WOMAN
The Mozambique army has begun investigations into a viral video that showed men in military uniform beat and murder a naked woman at Cabo Delgado province.
In the video, men clad in military uniform could be heard taunting a naked woman in Portuguese calling her 'al-Shabaab'- an Islamist insurgent group.
As she pled for mercy, one of the men hit her repeatedly with a stick and then others shot her.
The defence ministry in a statement released on Monday, September 14 promised to verify the authenticity of the video, describing it as "horrifying".
"The FDS [Defence and Security Forces] reiterate that they do not agree with any barbaric act that substantiates the violation of human rights," the Mozambique army said.
The video emerged amid allegations of grave human right violations committed by security forces in Cabo Delgado.
On September 9, Amnesty International said it had verified videos and photos showing: "the attempted beheading, torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners; the dismemberment of alleged opposition fighters; possible extrajudicial executions; and the transport and discarding of a large number of corpses into apparent mass graves."
One of the men in uniform did a selfie after the woman was murdered.
However, the Mozambique government debunked Amnesty's report claiming the insurgent usually impersonates security officials to incite public outrage and get international attention.
However, this footage has garnered more international attention, and more humanitarian agencies have called on the government to carry out an investigation.
"It's the worst case of betrayal," Zenaida Machado, a researcher for Human Rights Watch said as she called on the government to investigate the murder and put the perpetrators to book.
She said citizens should not run from insurgents and then be hurt by the people who are meant to save them.
Mozambique has been battling with Islamic Insurgents locally referred to as al-Shabaab since 2017.
The insurgents have been growing bolder, attacking villagers, security forces, and in August, captured a key port town.
READ ALSO: READ MORE: DETECTIVES ARRESTS 3 POLICE OFFICERS IN CONNECTION TO A VIDEO WHERE A WOMAN WAS BEING DRAGGED AND WHIPPED BY A MOTORCYCLE
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