A woman religious prays during Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate
Conception in Maputo, Mozambique in this 2019 file photo. Photo CNS. While a recent massacre in Mozambique has drawn headlines internationally, the country has been dealing with violence for years, which has largely gone unacknowledged in the international community, said leaders of a Catholic charity and peace organisation present in the country.
Johan Viljoen, director of Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), which is an entity of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), said footage and images coming in from the Palma massacre are horrifying.
“There are bodies lying everywhere on the streets and on the beaches; countless bodies of innocent civilians,” Mr Viljoen told ACI Africa, on March 29.
“What’s happening here is no different from what we used to see in Iraq…unfortunately, the world has all this time been silent about it,” he said.
He lamented that it has taken an attack on foreigners “for the world to finally realise the full extent of the crisis in Mozambique.”
“Whatever the world is seeing now has been going on in Mozambique for years. We have tried to talk about it, but no one cared to listen,” he said. “There is a global uproar now because a handful of foreigners were affected. But this has been going on. More than 3,000 innocent Mozambicans have died in this violence and no one cared.”
Militants seized control of the northern Mozambique port town of Palma last weekend, following a multi-day attack. Hundreds of militants ambushed the town on March 24, attacking shops, banks, and government buildings. They also attacked convoys trying to escape the town.
Dozens of people were killed in the attack, according to local officials, including seven foreigners. Tens of thousands of locals have fled as a result of the insurgency.
A militant group connected to the Islamic State has been blamed for the attack, which is part of a years-long conflict with Islamist extremist groups in the region. According to the BBC, more than 2,500 people were killed in the fighting since 2017, and 700,000 displaced.
Palma is home to a billion-dollar natural gas project, making it a strategic target. The Mozambican government had promised to provide security to the French-run Total oil and gas company in the area.
Mr Viljoen maintained that the increasing military involvement from Western countries is only aggravating the situation in Mozambique, where a number of Western powers are pursuing their respective economic interests.
He said the world should listen to the cry of Mozambicans who are suffering both at the hands of the insurgents and of authorities who sometimes wage war against innocent civilians.
“We are equal; foreigners and locals. Every life matters. As a Catholic organisation, we believe that we are all created in God’s image,” Mr Viljoen stressed.