Accusations and arrests follow armed group attack in northern Mozambique

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Accusations and arrests follow armed group attack in northern Mozambique

1:10 CAT | 17 Oct 2017

The Mozambican authorities have detained five men in the provincial capital of Pemba and are following up other leads after the armed attack on Mocímboa da Praia, 200 kilometres north, a source linked to neighbourhood structures told Lusa.

An incursion by five men wearing shorts and carrying backpacks into the vegetable gardens of neighbourhood Muxara A next to the main access to the city on Wednesday morning was reported by residents.

“People are more alert and ready to report anything they consider suspicious after what happened in Mocímboa da Praia,” the source said.

Police moved agents to the area and fired shots in the air in order to corner the suspects and apprehend them.

The same source said residents reported that the men put on robes during their walk through the neighbourhood, presumably “as a way of mingling with the population”. Their walking through the vegetable gardens would have been an alternative to using the main road, thereby evading police controls.

Other lines of enquiry include the possible recruitment of residents into the armed fundamentalist group opposed to the state, he added.

A Muslim tailor in the neighbourhood of Matite has already been identified as one of the insurgent group members killed during the clashes in Mocímboa da Praia, while another young man from Pemba’s Chiuiba neighbourhood is thought to have disappeared with his wife after selling his motorbike and other goods just days before the attack.

His case raised suspicion when the community noticed he had left the mosque that he usually attended for one that promoted the isolation of practitioners.

Also Read: Mocímboa da Praia- Awassa – Military vehicle escort implemented

It was not possible to obtain clarification from the police.

Pemba is the main city and seat of the provincial government of Cabo Delgado in the extreme north of the country, 1,600 kilometres from the capital, Maputo, and bordering Tanzania.

An armed group that police announced to have about 30 elements attacked police stations in the village of Mocímboa da Praia and surrounding areas in the early hours of October 5th.

The attack is attributed by local authorities and population to a network of Islamist-inspired extremists denounced by religious organisations in the area, but thought to have recruited members from Cabo Delgado mosques in recent years.

Also Read: Mocímboa da Praia to register residents, collect info on national & foreign visitors

The clashes in Mocímboa da Praia were prolonged, with exchanges of gunfire in some parts of the village for two days. Authorities restricted access to the locality, services and institutions were closed, and residents hid at home or fled into the bush.

Source: Lusa