Cabo Delgado: Killed at sea while fleeing Mocímboa terror – MediaFax

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Cabo Delgado: Killed at sea while fleeing Mocímboa terror – MediaFax

3:28 CAT | 19 Aug 2020

As civilian populations continue to lament the terror perpetrated by both insurgents and the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) in Cabo Delgado – a scenario which makes it impossible to objectively identify the enemy and the protector – news of another massacre is reaching us from Mocímboa da Praia district in that province.

The report indicates that more than 40 people were killed on Thursday last week, when the vessels they were travelling in were intercepted by armed men in the waters of the Indian Ocean, off Mocímboa da Praia.

They were said to be fleeing an invasion by insurgents of the village of Nkomangano, in Mocímboa da Praia district. In fact, Nkomangano was just their refuge, after their original villages were attacked.

While in the vessels, only one of which had a working sail and was therefore towing the other one, and fleeing to the island of Nhongue, a motor vessel transporting men wearing the uniforms of the Armed Forces of Defence of Mozambique reportedly intercepted them and asked them where they were going.

The obvious answer – that they were fleeing Nkomangano for the island of Nhongue – was apparently accepted by the military, and the people given the green light to continue their journey.

However, says one source, who requested anonymity, minutes later, the uniformed men dropped a bomb on one of the boats, killing some occupants and sinking the vessel. Men, women, children and the elderly lost their lives. Some managed to escape.

The only thing the survivors can say is that the perpetrators were soldiers wearing FADM uniforms, but no-one can accurately identity them. The question therefore remains whether they were in fact from the government, or from the terrorist forces.

The source, currently taking refuge in Pemba, claims that most of the passengers were family groups. “I knew many of them. There is one who died with five of his children and a nephew – seven people from the same family,” the source relates.

According to the same source, after the attack, the refugees returned to the Mocímboa da Praia shore and buried some of the victims before heading for Palma by land.

Another report circulating says that last week two boats carrying refugees from Mocímboa da Praia to Palma sank, killing most of the occupants.

The district of Palma, where the multi-million dollar natural gas projects are rolling out, seems comparatively secure, but some villages there have already been attacked.

Source: MediaFax