The Portuguese Prime Minister apologized to the Mozambican people for the Wiriamu massacre, which took place on December 16, 1972, when about 400 unarmed civilians were killed by Portuguese soldiers.

"In this year of 2022, almost 50 years after that terrible day of December 16, 1972, I cannot fail to evoke and bow before the memory of the victims of the Wiriamu massacre, an inexcusable act that dishonors our history," said António Costa at the dinner he hosted for the President of the Republic in Maputo on Friday, December 2.

Costa considered, on the occasion, that "a relationship of such intensity and longevity" between Portugal and Mozambique "is inevitably marked by diversity, by the diversity of encounters and mismatches, by slavery and liberation, by progress and poverty, by war and peace, by moments that we surely want to remember, but also by moments and events that we have the duty never to forget.

The apology from the Portuguese governor happened on the eve of the end of his three-day visit to Mozambique, during which he reiterated Lisbon's support to Maputo in the fight against terrorism, mainly with training and equipment, launched a training program for 1,200 gas technicians, and negotiated with Nyusi ways to facilitate the movement of citizens of both countries in their respective territories, focusing on businessmen.

Remember that the Wiriamu massacre, in Tete province, in which around 400 unarmed civilians were killed by the Portuguese army, was made known to the world by English journalist Peter Pringle, in an article in The Times newspaper, in 1973.