Attacks on trains in northern Mozambique increase

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Attacks on trains in northern Mozambique increase

5:56 CAT | 14 Oct 2016

DW / Malema, Nampula province, Mozambique

Attacks on trains in the Nacala corridor in northern Mozambique are multiplying, with authorities claiming Renamo is responsible for the assaults undermining the flow of people and goods.

Two attacks on trains have been reported in less than two weeks, resulting in material damage and slight injuries. The first occurred on 3 October in Cuamba district, and the second five days later in the northern province of Nampula.

Many passengers are afraid of taking the train because of the attacks. One such is Salvador Manuel, who lives in Lichinga and doesn’t feel able to visit his relatives in the north, “I cannot go visit my family in Nampula because of these train attacks, and I have no other way of getting there.”

The flag’s hammer to silence the guns

Celeste Simão, executive secretary of the Mozambique Workers’ Organisation (OTM) in Niassa province, says that the attacks on the northern development corridor are worrying, and that it is the population of the province and the region who are paying the price.

Like others, she wants an end to the war. “Niassa is far away from the other provinces. We have no industries, and our survival depends on Nacala, on Pemba. So we want the silencing of the guns, unconditionally. If the Mozambique flag has a hammer on it, we want that hammer beating the guns into silence.”

The Mozambican authorities accuse Renamo, the largest opposition party, of being behind the ambushes and attacks in the centre and north of the country, including the assaults on the railways of the Nacala corridor.

Police in Niassa however say that the situation has returned to normal. According to spokesman Alves Mate, the security of locomotives has been upgraded. “At the moment, the public order and safety situation on site is stabilised, and the defence and security forces are on the ground to apprehend the individuals responsible.”

Source: Deutsche Welle