A shadowy Islamist group that has terrorised northern Mozambique killed 52 villagers on April 7 after locals refused to be recruited to their ranks, according to police cited by local media Tuesday.
"Recently, the criminals tried to recruit young people to join their ranks, but there was resistance on the part of the youths. This provoked the anger of the criminals, who indiscriminately killed -- cruelly and diabolically -- 52 young people," police spokesman Orlando Mudumane told the state-owned broadcasting service.
The killing took place in the village of Xitaxi, in of Muidumbe district.