A bus bound for Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, was attacked in South Africa by an armed group early Thursday morning seven kilometers from the border, a source at the carrier told Lusa today.
Several goods were stolen, no passengers were injured, but several adults and children may have been injured, the same Cheetah Express source said.
The scheduled bus had left Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit), a city whose services and trades are used by many Mozambicans, and was on its way to Maputo when the incident took place.
At 18:45 (17:45 in Lisbon), at night, the car was seven kilometers from the border when it found a line of trucks next to the weighbridge for customs procedures before heading to Komatiport and the Kruger Natural Park.
The border is used by ferrochromium mines for export through the port of Maputo, and hundreds of trucks gather on some days, making it difficult for other vehicles to move.
In the middle of a traffic jam, 14 robbers armed with machetes, sticks, stones and firearms threatened the driver and passengers and robbed the bus, taking jewelry, passports, purchases and luggage, the company said on Facebook and clarified the source contacted by the Portuguese. .
This was the first time the Cheetah Express had been attacked, but there have already been other attacks on other vehicles and in other parts of the area, on a road on the South African side of the border, the same source added. a call to action for the security forces.
The carrier announced an increase in preventive measures, including earlier departures from Mbombela with fewer stops to cross the border before dark.
Episodes of violence on the South African roads connecting Maputo with Johannesburg and Pretoria are repeated and have different motives.
On Friday, a road concessionaire announced a temporary closure of a section of road in Witbank, 100 kilometers from Pretoria, due to protests in the country over energy costs.
“Out of a precaution, Trans African Concessions (Trac) along with the South African authorities decided to close the road” due to the risk of “people throwing stones and setting cars on fire,” said Fenias Maziwe, director of maintenance from the dealership.