Driver murdered in ambush against minibus in Niassa – AIM

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Driver murdered in ambush against minibus in Niassa – AIM

8:30 CAT | 30 Jan 2022

Photo: Miramar

Unknown assailants ambushed a passenger minibus and shot dead its driver on Friday in the village of Muhoco in Maua district, in the northern Mozambican province of Niassa.

The head of public relations in the Niassa Provincial Police Command, Alves Mathe, told AIM that the victim, Carlos da Conceicao Lagoas, was shot in the head and in the right arm. Two passengers in the minibus were injured. One was shot in the right thigh, while the second suffered a machete blow to his head.

Mathe said that two men ambushed the minibus, which was carrying 17 passengers. Both men were masked. One was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, and the other with a machete.

The attackers barricaded the road to slow down the bus. “When the driver reached the spot, he slowed down, and when he tried to turn round, the criminals opened fire against the vehicle, killing him”, said Mathe.

The passengers opened the minibus door and fled into the bush.

“As soon as we became aware of what had happened yesterday (Friday), we sent a force to the spot, and our colleagues have been searching the bush”, said Mathe. “We have now extended the perimeter of the search into other districts”.

The identity of the masked attackers is not yet clear. In November and December there were several terrorist attacks in the Niassa district of Mecula. These raiders were believed to have come across the provincial boundary from Cabo Delgado where islamist terrorists have been operating since October 2017.

Source: AIM