Click to expand Image Fishermen sort their catch before carrying it to shore near the Costa do Sol fish market in Maputo, Mozambique, January 10, 2025. © 2025 Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images (Johannesburg) – Mozambican navy personnel appear to have unlawfully killed and injured fishermen in Mozambique’s embattled Cabo Delgado province on March 15, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today.Mozambique’s Defense and Security Forces, citing security concerns linked to the ongoing armed conflict in the region, have imposed restrictions on coastal movement and fishing in parts of Mocímboa da Praia and neighboring Macomia districts. The government says the measures are intended to limit the movement of non-state armed groups along the coast, but they have also significantly affected communities that depend on fishing for their livelihoods. Mozambican authorities should urgently and impartially investigate the incident, hold those responsible for wrongdoing to account, and pay prompt and adequate compensation to the victims or their families.“Mozambican navy personnel fired on subsistence fishermen who fish the restricted waters out of economic hardship,” said Sheila Nhancale, Mozambique researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Mozambique’s partners should press the government to ensure a credible and transparent investigation, provide accountability and reparations for the victims, and adopt measures so that such abuses never recur.”Several residents told Human Rights Watch that despite the restrictions, many local fishermen continue to go to sea out of economic necessity.A local journalist said that the fishermen, an unidentified number of young men from the district, set out before dawn in three small boats to fish off Calugo village. They were intercepted by the naval personnel, who fired upon them.A relative of one of the survivors said that 13 fishermen were killed. He personally knew at least two of those killed, who were from different parts of Mocímboa da Praia district. “Among the dead are people from places known locally as Marere and Nanquidunga,” he said. “My younger brother’s son, Juma Sufo, is also among those killed, as well as Mr. Mapanga.”Another relative said that three of the injured—ages 23, 24, and 32—were taken to the Provincial Hospital in Pemba for treatment in the orthopedics ward, but they did not receive adequate immediate health care. “The three who were injured are my family,” he said. “One bullet was removed only on March 20 from one of them, where it had been lodged in his neck.”Residents said the naval personnel first calmly approached the fishermen, but then abruptly opened fire. “When the military arrived, they first greeted and asked the fishermen where they were coming from,” the resident said. “Then the navy left, but about 50 meters later they returned violently.”“The situation here in the district appeared calm, but then I learned that the fishermen were shot,” said another resident. “One of them is my neighbor in Pamunda. The soldiers were stressed and angry, and instead of investigating or arresting, they just killed.”The incident follows previous reports of the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces using lethal force against fishermen along the Mocímboa da Praia and Macomia coasts. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), an international nongovernmental organization, estimates that about 70 fishermen have been killed since 2024 in similar incidents.“This isn’t the first time the Mozambican navy has been accused of targeting fishermen,” said Tomás Queface, a researcher at ACLED. “We have documented multiple incidents, but there has been no serious investigation or accountability. This sends a message that such abuses are tolerated and risks further violations.”Borges Nhamirre, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, a South African nonprofit group, said the killings highlight the broader risks to civilians in Cabo Delgado. “Civilians have been subjected to abuses from both non-state armed groups and the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces, which should protect them,” he said. “These frequent incidents fuel frustration and may facilitate recruitment by violent extremist groups.”Local communities also face severe economic impacts due to the coastal restrictions. “Without access to the sea, communities lose essential means of subsistence,” Nhamirre said. “They are caught between the conflict and hunger.”Since 2017, Cabo Delgado has been the site of violent conflict that has killed about 6,500 people and forced more than 1.3 million people to flee their homes.Under international humanitarian law, applicable to the non-international armed conflict in Cabo Delgado, warring parties must always distinguish between civilians and combatants and take feasible precautions to protect civilians. Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and its Second Additional Protocol provide minimum protections for civilians and others not taking part in hostilities. Complementary human rights obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, further require governments to investigate potentially unlawful deaths and ensure accountability.“To prevent such attacks against civilians from happening again, it’s essential to provide justice for the victims,” Nhancale said. “The authorities need to adopt measures to ensure that those dependent on the sea for their livelihoods do not become targets of either side.”