2022 Will be decisive in fight against terrorism – Nyusi

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2022 Will be decisive in fight against terrorism – Nyusi

1:24 CAT | 31 Dec 2021

Photo: in file CoM

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi declared on Wednesday that 2022 will be a decisive year in the battle against the terrorist groups that have been active in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since October 2017.

Speaking in his capacity as Commander-in–Chief, at the headquarters of the Northern Operational Command, in the Cabo Delgado district of Mueda, Nyusi urged the defence and security forces to step up the fight against terrorism.

They should pursue the enemy relentlessly, he said, since they knew where many of the terrorists were now hiding, after they had been driven out of much of Palma. Quissanga, Muidumbe and Macomia districts.

Cited by the independent television station STV, Nyusi said there was no time to lose in pursuing the terrorists. He demanded that the Mozambican forces capture or eliminate the jihadist leaders, now that they are on the run, thanks to the offensives of the Mozambican forces and their Rwandan and SADC allies.

“You don’t kill the snake by its tail, but by its head”, he told the troops.

He also urged the defence forces to be especially vigilant during the New Year celebrations. “The enemy normally takes advantage of festive occasions to launch its attacks, and you must not allow this”, Nyusi declared.

Meanwhile the terrorists have continued to attack villages in the neghbouring province of Niassa. According to a report in the independent newsheet “Carta de Mocambique”, last Monday a group of around 20 terrorists attacked the village of Alassima in the Niassa district of Mecula.

Mecula is on the border betwen Niassa and Cabo Delgado, and villages there have come under attack since late November. The villagers of Alassima fled towards the district capital, Mecula town, in search of safety.

There were no reportes of deaths in Alassima, but three days earlier, on 24 December, five people were murdered in a raid on Naulala village.

Residents complained that, even with the nearby presence of the armed forces, the raiders were able to enter Naulala and burn down houses.

Nonetheless, the Mecula district administrator, Antonio Joaquim, claimed “the situation is under control, because the defence and security forces are working”.

But he insisted that vigilance by the local population was fundamental. “We cannot let down our guard”, he said, “and we must inform the authorities of any strange movements”.

Source: AIM