Military officials in Pretoria said a video posted on social media showed soldiers from the South African army and other unidentified elements throwing corpses into the burning rubble.
“SAMIM’s commander is investigating the involvement of its members in this despicable act,” the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) said in a statement, which Lusa had access to.
“The SANDF in no way condones the acts committed in the video and those found guilty of such acts will be held accountable,” he added.
In the statement, SANDF spokesperson Andries Mokoena Mahapa explained that the South African military has “recently watched a video circulating on social media showing members of the yet-to-be-identified armed forces throwing corpses over burning rubble and SANDF elements. They are watching.”
According to the note, the incident took place in November 2022 in Mozambique, where South Africa deployed a military team as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Mozambique (SAMIM).
“Once the forces are deployed, they are part of the combined force and are under the command and control of SAMIM. South Africa is only logistically supporting the mission,” he said in the statement.
The Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado has been battling an armed insurgency for five years, some of the attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The rebellion, backed by Rwanda and SADC, has led to a military response since July 2021, liberating districts next to gas projects, but new attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in the neighboring province of Nampula.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the conflict has already displaced one million people, and about 4,000 people have died, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
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