Islamist Militants Reportedly Beheaded Children in Mozambique



Recently, they reportedly beheaded children in their quest to turn Mozambique into an Islamic State similar to the one seen in Iran. According to Save The Children, some of the beheaded children were as young as 11 years old. The Islamist Militants have caused 670,000 people to be displaced and more than 1300 civilians have died. Mozambique Security Forces are struggling to kick the insurgents out.

One of the mothers recounted the bloodshed to Save The Children, stating "That night our village was attacked and houses were burned. When it all started, I was at home with my four children. We tried to escape to the woods, but they took my eldest son and beheaded him. We couldn't do anything because we would be killed too."

Another mother who was able to be transported out recounted the horror the Islamist militants unleashed on her and her family, stating, "After my 11-year-old son was killed, we understood that it was no longer safe to stay in my village. We fled to my father's house in another village, but a few days later the attacks started there too. Me, my father and the children spent five days eating green bananas and drinking banana tree water until we got transport that brought us here."

The conflict has been raging on since 2017, with the war to stop the Islamist takeover of the region significantly ramping up since 2020. The beheadings of children by the Islamist militants are the most recent atrocity committed, though Islamist militants also beheaded at least 2 people in another town in Mozambique less than one month ago.

The militants have been beheading civilians in the region since the conflict began in 2017, but the number of beheadings significantly increased in November of 2020, when they beheaded at least 50 civilians in one attack.