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MAPUTO. – The international NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW), yesterday denounced the Mozambican rebel movement Renamo for its attacks on health units. An HRW statement noted that, over the past month, Renamo has raided at least two hospitals and two clinics. and warns “the attacks on the medical facilities, which involved looting medicine and supplies and destroying medical equipment, threaten access to health care for tens of thousands of people in remote areas of the country”.In fact, the raids on health units is nothing new – these soft targets came under Renamo attack repeatedly during the war of destabilisation that ended in 1992, and Renamo has adopted the same tactic in its latest insurgency, which began in February.
“Renamo’s attacks on hospitals and health clinics are threatening the health of thousands of people in Mozambique,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at HRW. “Renamo’s leadership needs to call off these attacks on health facilities immediately.”
The most recent such attack took place on August 12, when about a dozen gunmen who identified themselves as Renamo entered the town of Morrumbala, in the central province of Zambezia, before dawn. The men first raided a police station, freeing about 23 men detained there, and then looted the Morrumbala rural hospital.
The local authorities and eyewitnesses told HRW that the attackers were from Renamo. A Morrumbala nurse said the gunmen opened fire at the hospital building.
“I was in the emergency room when they fired gunshots through the windows,” he said. “We were hiding beneath chairs, beds, anything we could find.”
“RENAMO’s raids on medical facilities seem part of a repugnant strategy to damage health facilities and loot medicines,” Bekele said. “What they are succeeding in doing is to deny crucial health services to Mozambicans who need them.” – AIM
Online Reporter