Mocimbo da Praia, Mozambique — The Mozambican military has admitted to killing at least 13 fishermen on March 15, when soldiers aboard a Defence Armed Forces of Mozambique (FADM) vessel opened fire on six boats sailing south from Mocimbo da Praia. The incident is the latest in a wave of lethal shootings at sea that have claimed the lives of at least 85 fishers since January 2024.
The admission, made at a public meeting in Mocimbo da Praia on March 25 by senior military commanders, marks a rare acknowledgment of wrongdoing by the FADM, which has faced mounting accusations from local communities and international observers about its conduct in the nearly four-year conflict in Cabo Delgado province.
A Pattern of Violence at Sea
The March 15 killings brought the total number of fishers shot and killed by FADM navy personnel to at least 85 in 10 separate incidents along the coastline of Mocimbo da Praia and Macomia districts. That figure dramatically exceeds the 13 fishers killed across just five incidents in the five years between 2019 and 2023.
Fishers in the region say soldiers have become increasingly aggressive in enforcing movement restrictions along the coast, which the military says is necessary to prevent supplies and fighters from reaching Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP) militants who have operated in the area since at least 2023.
Despite the lethal shootings, fishers continue to take to the sea. With limited economic opportunities on land, many say the risk is a necessary one. Without fishing, there is nothing. We know the danger. But we have families to feed, one local fisherman told a Mozambican news outlet.
The Broader Conflict in Cabo Delgado
The violence against fishers occurs against the backdrop of an intensifying insurgency that has seen Islamic State-linked militants retain a significant presence in the coastal hinterlands of northern Mozambique.
Islamic State – Mozambique Province has kidnapped civilians for ransom, seized territory, and sustained operations in the region — defying predictions that a joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) military intervention in 2021 would swiftly crush the insurgency.
The persistent threat has strained local communities and the soldiers sent to protect them, creating a dynamic in which security forces’ suspicion of civilian populations — including legitimate fishers — has resulted in excessive force.
Human rights organizations have called for independent investigations into the killings and for the Mozambican government to establish clear protocols to prevent further harm to civilians.