Al-Shabab kidnapped hundreds of girls in Mozambique

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A report by Human Rights Watch said at least 600 women and girls have been kidnapped and enslaved in the last three years by militants in Mozambique northern province of Cabo Delgado.

According to the report, the IS-linked militant group known as al-Shabab forced younger, healthy-looking, and lighter-skinned women and girls in their custody to marry their fighters.

Some of the abductees have been sold to foreign fighters and others have been released after their families paid ransom, while another group has been freed following a military offensive led by government troops and regional forces.

Human Rights Watch called on the militants to release those still being held.

The rights body conducted its investigations between August 2019 and October 2021, its findings are based on interviews of former abductees, their relatives, security sources, and government officials, as well as media reports.