Mozambique police deny mass grave report

The Mozambican police have denied the existence of any mass grave in central Sofala province, as unverified claims go viral suspecting rebel members might had been murdered and buried en masse.

"The commission set up and dispatched to the scene found no evidence, they did not find any mass grave or reference let alone the farmers who are told to have discovered the mass grave and indicated it to journalists," police spokesperson Inacio Dina said in a statement Wednesday.

The police said it will continue investigating the case and requested journalists to collaborate with the authorities to find the graves, if any.

"This is a topic of great importance to the police that it is why it is interested to bring the truth around it," Dina added.

Last week pictures of an alleged mass grave started to circulate in the social media and were later picked by local media.

Gorongosa, the region where the mass grave controversy rose, is a traditional stronghold of the main opposition Renamo. Radical members of Renamo, a former armed rebel movement, in recent years launched sporadic attacks on government forces and civilian targets as well, prompting a revenge to restore law and order by the authorities. Endit