Terrorist movement worries the people of Meluco in Mozambique

The population of the Meluco district in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique reported this Thursday strange movements of terrorist groups in the region, causing concern.

“On Monday, an unidentified group of terrorists passed through here in Nangororo on their way to the Imbada area, but they did not cause any damage. The same group was seen in Muagida,” a source from the Nangororo community told Luse.

The same source added that the group of terrorists was spotted around 8pm local time on Monday by residents of Nangororo, originally from the Kisanga area, crossing the road near residential buildings, causing some residents to spend the night near their houses.

“There were a lot of them, but they didn’t do anything or talk to anyone. The truth is that they passed and we are afraid that this will continue,” lamented the same source.

The next day, Tuesday, the group was seen at the Muagide administrative post, still in Meluko, in the production fields. They also didn’t talk to anyone, but eventually the population left the fields.

“The despair is even greater. Sometimes I wonder why this continues,” lamented a local source from Meluco.

Lusa was contacted by a local force source on the ground who confirmed the public’s complaints but assured that they were working to prevent incursions by terrorist groups.

“The truth is that the public has spoken and we are working to make sure nothing happens. The population cannot flee again, they deserve to remain in peace, produce and develop other activities for the benefit of Meluco,” said a source from the local district headquarters in Meluco.

Nangororo is located along National Road 380, one of the few paved roads in the region, bordering the district of Macomia, the central region of Cabo Delgado, where the community was also the target of rebel incursions three years ago, forcing hundreds of people to flee to Pemba and other parts of the province and beyond.

Cabo Delgado province has faced an armed insurgency for six years, with the extremist group Islamic State claiming responsibility for some attacks.

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

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and nearly 4,000 people have died, according to the ACLED Conflict Recording Project.