Mozambique: Insurgents attack buses, kidnap driver – Lusa

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Mozambique: Insurgents attack buses, kidnap driver – Lusa

12:15 CAT | 12 Feb 2024

Screen grab: @DelgadoCabo/X

Terrorists operating in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado have intercepted vehicles and kidnapped a passenger transport driver, local sources told Lusa on Monday.

The kidnapping took place on Friday afternoon, on National Road 380 (N380), at the Unguia junction, 56 kilometres from the district headquarters of Meluco, when the victim refused to stop after being intercepted by the terrorists.

The insurgents then shot out the car’s tyres and ordered all the passengers to get out, forcing the driver to stay inside.

“He soon realised it was them [terrorists], but he wanted to challenge them as he was driving by running away. They pierced the car and the rims. The others were told ‘you can walk’,” reported a source who was in the car from Ancuabe district headquarters.

On the same day, a driver from the Civil Identification Directorate, who was travelling from Meluco to the city of Pemba, found the community of Unguia completely abandoned on the way, and the population had sought refuge in the woods.

“He went back into the woods and found a group of people whom he asked for a phone to communicate with his wife, alerting her to the situation,” added another source, also reporting that this is not the first time that the rebels have intercepted vehicles on that stretch of the N380, where traffic is unescorted by the military, contrary to what happens elsewhere in Cabo Delgado.

On Sunday afternoon, near the village of Nangororo, in the district of Meluco, alleged terrorists stopped another bus travelling between Nampula and Palma, carrying almost 60 people, forcing the occupants to hand over their belongings.

“Suddenly the terrorists, in large numbers and all armed, came out onto the road and stopped the bus. They forced the passengers to hand over money as a condition for the journey to continue. The passengers handed over the money, and [they] let the journey continue,” said a source from Macomia, reporting the panic felt by the occupants, and the case was reported to the authorities.

On Saturday morning, another group of insurgents attacked the community of Litamanda in the district of Macomia and are suspected of killing a 19-year-old girl, a situation that caused panic among the residents, who fled to the neighbouring community of Chai, which has a military position.

“They went into Litamanda because there are very few people living there. The young woman was found dead in the neighbourhood,” said a source close to the victim.

They left two messages in Portuguese & English.
Jizya is a per capita tax levied on non-Muslim citizens.#Macomia pic.twitter.com/H6vOOqxAz0

— Cabo Delgado (@DelgadoCabo) February 12, 2024

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

After a period of relative stability, new attacks and movements have been recorded in Cabo Delgado in recent weeks, although the local authorities suspect that the movement is linked to the persecution imposed by the defence and security forces in the districts of Macomia, Quissanga and Muidumbe, among the most affected.

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

Source: Lusa