Human Rights Watch has accused the security forces in Mozambique of intimidating, detaining and prosecuting journalists who are attempting to report on the jihadist conflict in the north of the country.
The rights group says by silencing the media the government is preventing any scrutiny of the military operations and alleged abuses. Last month the military detained a journalist for nearly two weeks for interviewing people displaced by the conflict in Cabo Delgado Province – he was then charged in a civilian court with breaching a law on state secrets.
Since 2017 jihadist fighters have been attacking villages in the gas-rich region, killing more than 150 people and displacing thousands.
