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Government forces rescued abducted children who were forcibly recruited by the jihadist group Al-Shabab in northern Mozambique, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) could not give more details on the number of young people involved, for fear of jeopardizing efforts to free more children.
“Children have been saved, not released” by activists, UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
They were rescued by “government forces”, he said.
Al-Shabab, linked to the Islamic State, has been terrorizing the gas-rich Cabo Delgado region of the Southeast African country since 2017, carrying out raids on villages and towns in an attempt to establish a caliphate.
The insurgency has grown bolder, with attacks including a coordinated raid on Palma in March 2021 that left dozens dead and displaced thousands.
Last week, Human Rights Watch said al-Shabab kidnapped hundreds of boys in the northeast region and forced them to join their ranks as child soldiers.
“There are thousands of children who have been displaced” since the March attacks, Elder said.
“In these areas … we consider thousands of children to be at risk and no child has been released so far.
“I would like to give you more details about the saved children, but of course we do not want to jeopardize the ongoing negotiations.”
Elder said that as humanitarian access to Cabo Delgado began to improve, there were more and more reports of abductions and use of children in armed groups.
He said UNICEF had some evidence of sexual violence against girls and forced marriages of girls.
Elder said video material secured by the armed forces in an abandoned training camp – which UNICEF has yet to verify – appears to show abducted children as young as five years old “handling weapons and being brainwashed to fight “.
An obscure jihadist group called Al-Shabab launched a bloody offensive in Cabo Delgado province in 2017. By Kun TIAN (AFP) Other recent reports of kidnappings leave “little doubt that children are forcibly recruited by this non-state armed group,” he said.
“All possible measures should be taken to ensure that children are demobilized, disengaged or otherwise released, and that they receive all the protection services appropriate for their social reintegration. “
Children associated with armed groups are primarily treated as survivors of violations under international legal standards.
UNICEF said it was working with the Mozambican government to support the physical and mental health of rescued soldiers and help them safely reintegrate into their communities.
The United Nations agency has also trained the Mozambican forces on what to do if they encounter children with armed groups.
The insurgency has killed more than 3,300 people – half of them civilians – and displaced at least 800,000 from their homes over the past four years.
In July, Rwanda sent 1,000 troops to aid Mozambique, and several of the country’s neighbors, led by South Africa, followed suit.
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