New attack on public transport kills aid worker in Mozambique

An armed attack on public transport on a road to Cabo Delgada in northern Mozambique killed a MSF driver on Saturday, the humanitarian organization said in a statement, and family members of the passengers told Lusa.

“During an attack on the road between Macomia and Pemba, near Mitambo, an MSF staff member was wounded while traveling by public transport on the weekend to visit his family in Pemba,” the humanitarian organization said.

It was the second such attack in the same area of ​​the national road 380 (EN 380, one of the main in the region) in three days.

The victim would eventually die “in a few hours while receiving medical attention, leaving behind a wife and five children,” he added.

Two vehicles were set on fire and at least two other people were injured in the armed attack with firearms and looting of property, family members of the passengers told Lusa.

There were survivors who fled on foot to nearby villages.

“I have already confirmed [o ataque] with relatives [na aldeia 19 de Outubro] but I’m not calm because the bad family members left Macomia for Pemba and I haven’t heard anything about them,” complained a 69-year-old woman from Macomia.

Federica Nogarotto, head of MSF’s mission in Mozambique, mourned the death and highlighted the risks to anyone who helps the population in northern Mozambique.

“Today we are in mourning. We have lost a colleague who, like all employees, is fully committed to helping displaced families, often facing significant risk,” he said.

The organization says it is “alarmed by the ongoing violence in northern Mozambique” and “indiscriminate attacks that routinely kill and injure civilians in Cabo Delgada.”

On Wednesday, an armed group killed at least two people (sources at the scene indicate, without specifying that the number should be higher) and injured others in the same area, in another attack on vehicles, including public transport, the sources said. places.

The incursions come at a time when Mozambican forces have launched Operation Vulcão IV, which covers parts of the Macomia and Muidumbe areas to destroy rebel hideouts.

MSF has been developing activities in Cabo Delgado since 2019, including primary health care, psychiatric and psychosocial support, and distribution of essential goods.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for five years now, with the Islamic State extremist group claiming responsibility for some attacks.

The insurgency has led to military retaliation since July 2021, with the support of Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating areas near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in the neighboring province. from Nampula.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the conflict has already displaced one million people and killed about 4,000 people, according to the ACLED Conflict Registration Project.