Loggers abandon shipyards in Cabo Delgado due to terrorist threats

Loggers working in the community of Intutupue in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado have begun to leave their shipyards, fearing further terrorist attacks, local sources told Lusa this Thursday.

70 kilometers from the provincial capital, the community of Intutupue in Ancuabe district plays an important role in supplying construction materials such as planks, beams, sticks and bamboo, especially for the city of Pemba, but this activity is under threat due to the presence of terrorists in the forest.

“The situation is complicated, terrorists are circulating 10-15 kilometers away, they even killed Namfaramas. [grupo paramilitar tradicional]On Sunday, a lot of people are returning,” a local source from Intutupue told Lusa.

Last Sunday, rebel groups attacked a group of paramilitaries known as Namfaramas in the forests of Intutupue, killing seven of them, as well as two rebel deaths.

“The situation is not good, we are all scared,” a logger who left the yard in the forest, known as the Unkhanhakula area, where the shooting took place, told Lusa.

In addition to the loggers, several farmers also fled the Unhanhakula area, fearing further attacks, abandoning their production fields.

“My wife and I left the area. There is a threat from the rebels, they are circulating among us, and this could cost us dearly,” said the 64-year-old farmer.

After months of relative normalcy in areas of Cabo Delgado affected by armed violence, the province has been registering new movements and attacks for weeks by rebel groups that have restricted traffic at some points on the few paved roads that give access to several areas.

A new wave of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique led to the displacement of 99,313 people in February, including 61,492 children (62%), according to an estimate released this week by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Mozambican National Defense Minister Cristovan Chume confirmed rebel attacks in four districts of Cabo Delgado province on February 29, but assured that this was not a “resurgence” of terrorist activity in the north.

“I want to say that this is not what is happening, because if this were actually the case, we would say that there are areas or district headquarters that are occupied, without access to the population. groups of terrorists who left their barracks in the Namarussia area, which we said is their base, went further south, attacked some villages and created panic,” said Cristovau Chume.

A government official, speaking to reporters in Maputo following a meeting with a high-level EU mission, assured that the situation in Cabo Delgado “remains stable, despite recent events in the south of the province.” “.

“As we know, some villages in the districts of Quisanga, Metugue, Ancuabe, Curé have been attacked, which has led to the displacement of the population further south, to the province of Nampula, as well as to other areas of Cabo Delgado,” he admitted.

The minister said there was a need to invest in development programs to “minimize the risk of radicalization” and “prevent a resurgence of terrorism.”

However, he cautioned: “We do not want to say that there are no cases of terrorism, yes, there are. And we will continue to fight, but what happened in the past will not happen again. We are firm on this, but we will watch for situations like what happened in Chiura, in Metuga and other areas where there are attacks that we cannot avoid.”