Residents of Ancuabe, a district in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, expressed concern on Friday about the movement of suspected terrorists in villages close to the main town.
“We were playing ludo when our neighbors warned us about the appearance of a large group of strange people in our village. We soon realized that they were terrorists,” said Nanoa village resident from Ankuabe-sede.
The suspected rebels, mostly young men, were seen on Monday around 17:00 (16:00 in Lisbon) in the villages of Nanoa, Natocoa and Nangumi in the Ancuabe district, which is located almost 150 kilometers from the city of Pemba, with weapons in their hands, leading to the flight of some people from these communities, sources said.
“Many left their farms [campos de produção agrícola] out of fear,” another Nanoa source explained to Luse.
“Even workers at a graphite processing company in the region panicked because they passed right next to the company, in the interior of Nangumi,” another source said.
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado has been the scene of an armed uprising, with attacks blamed on movements linked to the extremist group Islamic State.
The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May on the Macomia district headquarters, when about a hundred rebels looted the town, resulting in several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces.
The population of other areas of the province reports the movement of these groups of rebels, causing panic along the way, in the forests, but without any records of clashes, which occurs at a time when the peasants are trying to carry out harvesting work in the fields of cultivation.
Mozambique’s president said on June 16 that the actions of various defence forces had eliminated “virtually all” the bases of terrorist groups operating in Cabo Delgado, which were now limited to “walking in the bush.”
Filipe Nyusi’s visit to Zambia, which borders Mozambique through Tete province (center), aims to strengthen cooperation between the countries, focusing on the ports, tourism and energy sectors, with several memorandums expected to be signed.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.