International rights group, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Angolan police of allegedly killing 15 activists since January.
The group, in a statement on Monday, urged the Angolan government to swiftly carry out probe on reports of abuse and rights violations by the police.
The NGO said the country’s law enforcement authorities had also been accused of the arbitrary arrests and detention of hundreds by local human rights groups.
“Angolan law enforcement authorities including police, state security and intelligence services have been implicated in unlawful killings of at least 15 people,” Zenaida Machado, senior Africa researcher at HRW said in the statement.
“Political activists, artists and protest organizers were the main targets of the alleged rights violations.
“Angolan authorities should urgently act to end abusive police policies and practices and ensure that there is justice for victims and their family members,” Machado added.
The researcher said although the government had attempted to improve law enforcement, criminal prosecutions against police officers who committed these violations remained rare.
“The arrests are more frequent in the oil rich northern province of Cabinda, close to the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the last six months, HRW has interviewed 32 people across the country including victims and their relatives, witnesses and security sources.
“In one instance, men who identified as criminal investigation service members held a group of young men in custody whose bodies were found three days later at a hospital morgue.
“A friend of the victims, who were known for participating in anti-government protests, said that police had been monitoring the group”, he revealed.
Angola’s ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), has, however, denied HRW’s claims.
“Investigations are already underway,” party spokesman, Rui Falcao told journalists.
“However, we find it strange that those calling for the necessary investigations already have conclusions and are passing judgement,” Falcao said.