The trial of 189 suspected Islamist militants has began in Mozambique with the accused allegedly involved in attacks against police and civilians in the northern province of ‘Cabo Delgado.’
The trial opened in a tent serving as an improvised court house inside a jail in Pemba, the provincial capital, with Mozambicans, Tanzanians, Congolese, Somalis and Burundians among the defendants, of whom were 42 women.
Over the last year, more than 50 people have been killed in gun, grenade and knife assaults in the growing jihadist insurgency, with the militants reportedly seeking to impose Sharia law in the Muslim-majority province.
