Cabo Delgado: Attacks reach Agrarian Insitute of Bilibiza, managed by the Aga Khan Development Network – Lusa

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Cabo Delgado: Attacks reach Agrarian Insitute of Bilibiza, managed by the Aga Khan Development Network – Lusa

9:12 CAT | 30 Jan 2020

Image: Google Maps

An armed group has attacked the village of Bilibiza and its agrarian institute, which is managed by the the Aga Khan Development Network and is the only technical secondary school in Cabo Delgado, local sources told Lusa.

The attack took place at 8:00 p.m. yesterday, about 120 kilometres north of Pemba, the provincial capital.

According to Bilibiza residents, gunshots were heard and the population began to flee into the bush, seeking refuge for the night. The extent of the damage, or if there were casualties, is not yet known.

The Agrarian Institute is currently closed for the holidays.

The institution is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) which, following an agreement signed with the Mozambican government in 2014, has been introducing new agricultural techniques, in addition to carrying out infrastructure projects.

Portugal is one of the participating partner countries.

Armed attacks broke out in 2017 in the province of Cabo Delgado led by mosque-goers “radicalised” by foreigners, presumably, according to local Islamic leaders, who had previously warned of growing friction.

There has never been a claim of responsibility for the attacks, except for communiqués from the Islamic State jihadist group, which has, since June, claimed some of them, along with photographs alleged to represent the attacks, but whose presence on the ground experts and authorities do not consider credible.

The attacks have already claimed at least 350 deaths among attackers, residents and Mozambican military personnel, in addition to leaving around 60,000 people affected or forced to abandon their land and homes, according to the latest edition of the United Nations humanitarian aid plan for Mozambique.

The province of Cabo Delgado is the locus of the megaprojects which will, in four years, place Mozambique in the top 10 of the world producers of natural gas. Portuguese companies and workers are among the dozens of contractors hired by the oil consortia.

The wave of violence started at the northern tip of the province, but yesterday’s attack and others took place further south.

Mozambican defence and security forces are on the ground, but President Filipe Nyusi admitted last week that more support was needed to deal with the problem.

“We need co-participation, because this is a multinational problem, so its solution will not depend only on Mozambique,” he said in London at the end of the United Kingdom-Africa Economic Summit.

According to Nyusi, who was speaking after meetings held on the sidelines of the summit, “some companies have made themselves available to give their support, to prevent this issue being an obstacle to the development of Mozambique”.

BREAKING: Bilibiza attacked a few hours ago. Well inside Quissanga. Some villages nearby too. #CaboDelgado pic.twitter.com/NYG0AUmIOe

— Eric Morier-Genoud (@emorier) January 29, 2020