10 kids rescued from traffickers
2008-03-27 07:24
Maputo - Mozambican police have rescued ten children who were being smuggled by people traffickers to neighbouring South Africa, state television has reported.
Televisao Mozambique reported that the 10 children were rescued on Wednesday evening in Lindela, near the town of Inhambane, 750km north of the capital Maputo.
"The children said they had been promised jobs in South Africa," a resident of the area, Pedro Joao, said.
According to television and radio reports, children between the ages of 16 and 18 were being transported in a truck and realised something was wrong when they stopped at a bus stop and were prevented from going to the toilet.
Police later rescued the children, however it could not be confirmed if any arrests were made.
In January, 39 children were rescued in Inchope in northern Mozambique, after they were told they were being taken to study religion in South Africa.
Mozambique had no laws to prosecute those guilty of trafficking, and the incident led the United Nations to call for "the adoption of legal instruments to enforce the protection of children against abuse and exploitation".
A coalition of rights groups warned late last year that trafficking of Mozambican children to neighbouring countries, mostly South Africa, had risen tenfold in the last two years.