INAM: Moderate to heavy rain alert issued for central and northern Mozambique
A group of unidentified men armed with machetes and other blunt instruments attacked the village of Inlane in the district of Palma, Cabo Delgado province, early on Friday morning, Canalmoz reports on on Tuesday, December 12.
According to local authorities, two people died in the attack and two others were wounded by machete blows.
Speaking at the II National Conference of Islamic Communities, which ended on Sunday in the city of Beira, Abdul Sele Assane, representative of the Islamic Council of Mozambique in the city of Pemba, stated: “This took place at dawn on Friday. Two people were killed by machete blows and two others were injured. A group of women from the village was taken [by the attackers] to help carry the supplies looted in homes and commercial establishments.”
He added that this new type of attack was very worrying, because, before, the attackers had said that the Defence and Security Forces were their target, but now they were attacking villages and looting shops.
“As we warned the authorities last year, we continue to warn them today. There are outbreaks in the province of Nampula and Niassa. We have already had a meeting with members of the provincial and central governments, but we still have no solution,” he said.
Three closed mosques and one destroyed
“At present, we have four mosques closed, two in the city of Pemba, and in Alto Gigone and Carióco, and another in Mocímboa da Praia, and two other mosques were closed by order of the government,” Abdul Sele Assane said, referring to the period from October to now.
He added that the government, after ordering the closing of the mosques, said it would reopen them, but the congregations still did not know when this would happen or why were they closed.
“We continue to appeal to Muslims for calm pending the government’s response, because we have a lot of people still detained,” he said.
About 100 people are known to be detained in Cabo Delgado, and about 200 cases have been opened in the Attorney General’s Office in connection with the clashes in Mocímboa da Praia.
Forbidden to travel in Muslim dress
The representative of the Islamic Council of Mozambique in the city of Pemba says that the authorities, including the police, military and agents of the State Security and Information Service, are acting irregularly in Mocímboa da Praia in particular and in Cabo Delgado generally, arresting people who grow a beard or wear a veil.
According to the government, this measure only covers the mosques associated with the group of individuals involved in the attacks on the mosques in the Carióco, Embondeiro, Alto Gigone and Chiuba neighbourhoods.
“Many people were forced to shave their beards off for fear of arrest. At check points from Mocímboa da Praia to the border with Tanzania, people are being searched and humiliated. If a woman is caught travelling with an Islamic veil, she is immediately arrested, and this worries us,” he said.
By Cláudio Saúte
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.