Mozambique: MSF mourns colleague killed in Chimbanga attack, Mocímboa da Praia district

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Mozambique: MSF mourns colleague killed in Chimbanga attack, Mocímboa da Praia district

4:13 CAT | 08 Jan 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The non-governmental organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Sunday lamented the death of a colleague during an attack by rebels in the district of Mocímboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado, on Friday.

“On January the 5th, four people, including a health promoter of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), were killed during an attack in the village of Chibanga, district of Mocimboa da Praia, in the province of Cabo Delgado. Our colleague was less than 30 years old and leaves behind his family,” reads an MSF statement.

“We are grieving, and we are very sad with the loss of our colleague at such young age during this attack. He was an active member of the community who was committed in helping saving dozens of lives, through the dissemination of health promotion messages, identification of patients, and referral to specialized care, including pregnant women and children” the emergency coordinator of MSF in Cabo Delgado, Marta Cazorla, says in a press release.

The new attack took place around 7:00 p.m. on Friday, in the community of Chimbanga, less than 50 kilometres from the headquarters town of Mocímboa da Praia, with at least four people killed and several homes destroyed.

Another MSF worker was killed during an attack while travelling on public transport in the district of Macomia in 2023.

“Although there has been a growing narrative of stabilization in Cabo Delgado, the security situation remains volatile, with civilians being killed and displaced on a regular basis.,” adds the organisation in the note, stressing that, despite this attack, it will continue to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to affected families in the districts of Macomia, Mocímboa da Praia, Mueda, Muidumbe, Nangade and Palma.

READ: Mozambique: MSF is shocked and saddened with the killing of another staff in Cabo Delgado

In addition to this attack on Friday, another group of terrorists, using canoes, arrived on Thursday on the island of Tembuze, also in Cabo Delgado, menacing fishermen and looing commercial products and other goods from residents.

The attacks on Mocímboa da Praia and other parts of Cabo Delgado take place at a time when populations are engaged in seasonal food production, activity threatened by these attacks.

Last Wednesday, armed groups had once again attacked the district of Mocímboa da Praia, in the community of Ntótwé, just a few kilometres from Awasse, where Rwandan forces supporting Mozambique in the fight against rebel groups in Cabo Delgado have a garrison.

The attack caused an as yet undetermined number of deaths, according to sources on the ground.

The rebel incursion caused people from Ntótwé to flee to the administrative post of Awasse, although it drew an immediate response from Mozambican and Rwandan forces in the vicinity.

The village of Ntótwé is just over 100 kilometres from Mocímboa da Praia on National Road Number 380, one of the few paved roads in the region, which connects to the northernmost districts of Cabo Delgado, where the Rovuma gas projects are situated.

READ: Mozambique: Two dead in terrorist attack in Mocímboa da Praia district – AIM

The district of Mocímboa da Praia, in the north of Cabo Delgado, was the terrorists’ first target, on October 5, 2017, with the insurgents later attacking other parts of the province.

Almost the entire population of around 62,000 people abandoned the coastal town following the intensification of insurgent actions in June 2020.

After months in rebel hands, Mocímboa da Praia was comprehensively looted and almost all public and private property sustaining damage, as well as energy, water, communications and healthcare infrastructure destroyed.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for six years with some attacks claimed by the extremist Islamic State group, which has led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), freeing districts near gas projects.

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

The Mozambican president, Filipe Nyusi, on 22 November asked for “decisions” on the response capacity of the Armed Forces in Cabo Delgado, particularly with reservists, taking into account the planned withdrawal of foreign forces supporting on the ground against terrorist groups, planned for July.

Nos últimos seis dias, os terroristas protagonizaram ataques as aldeias de Ntontwe, Chinda, Chibanga, Chibau, Litamanda e Ulo, e mais tarde seguiram-se ataques a Chai, 5º Congresso, Mahate e Manila https://t.co/kuZuSE3h8b

— Plural Media (@media_plural) January 8, 2024

Insurgents launched a murderous saga in Cabo Delgado, with multiple and simultaneous attacks in the districts of Macomia, Muidumbe and Macímboa da Praiahttps://t.co/BqNCpV06q4

— Jasmine Opperman (@Jasminechic00) January 8, 2024

Approximately 50 terrorists in a northerly direction, along the Messalo River. Sources say that this picture was taken by a drone two days ago. They are regrouping and #Samim mission is going to ending asap. May God save Cabo Delgado pic.twitter.com/C5Ho74b2BD

— Luis Nhachote 🇲🇿 (@luisnhachote) January 4, 2024

Source: Lusa