About 60 fishermen freed after three days in rebel hands in Mozambique

Rebel groups that carried out armed attacks in Cabo Delgado have freed about 60 fishermen kidnapped on Saturday in Mocimboa da Praia, a source in the district government told Lusa on Thursday.

The victims were seized early Saturday evening on an island nearly 10 miles from district headquarters while they were fishing, and for three days the rebels forced them to travel in their own boats first to Macomia and then to Kisanga, where they were released on Tuesday without a clear explanation, said Luse Benhamim Isac, permanent secretary of the Mocimboa da Praia district.

“After three days, the 56 fishermen who were captured were released. They were not mistreated by the rebels, they did not lose any property and are now living with their families,” explained the permanent secretary of the Mocimboa da Praia district.

Benjamim Isak said the situation in the area was under control, stressing that government forces were continuing their investigation.

“Our control is total, the joint forces continue to do their job. The movement of goods and people continues. This happened on the island, so we cannot go into detail about the situation there now, but in general, the control is total,” he emphasized.

The coastal town, where armed groups launched their first attack in October 2017, has long been described as a rebel “base.”

After months in rebel hands, Mocimboa da Praia was looted and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as the power, water, communications and hospital systems that were one of the priorities for infrastructure restoration after the first signs of security stabilization.

In total, about 62,000 people, almost the entire population, have fled the coastal town since the conflict began five and a half years ago, with an emphasis on mass exoduses following the intensification of rebel activity in June 2020.

Mocimboa da Praia is located 70 km south of the construction site of the Afungi, Palma natural gas exploration project, led by TotalEnergies.

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 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 clashes, while the peasants are trying to carry out harvesting work in the fields.