MDM leader warns of state capture risk

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

MDM leader warns of state capture risk

2:26 CAT | 28 Feb 2019

File photo: Lusa

Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) president Daviz Simango warned on Monday that the state risked being “captured” by the perpetrators of the armed attacks in the north of the country, advocating a quick resolution of the insecurity in the region.

“The state needs to pay close attention to the situation [in the province of Cabo Delgado], so that the country will not be captured and [forced to] negotiate with the insurgents in the future,” Simango told press on the sidelines of an MDM meeting in the central province of Sofala.

Simango, who is also the mayor of the city of Beira, said that the armed attacks that were devastating some Cabo Delgado districts could escalate if not addressed.

“This problem is not of the party in power, nor of the opposition, it is of all Mozambicans,” he said.

On Saturday, six people were killed and several were injured in an attack on a car in the district of Macomia in Cabo Delgado, while on Thursday of last week, four people were injured and one died when a convoy of US oil company cars was attacked by gunmen in the district of Palma, also in Cabo Delgado.

The attack was the first to target of a company involved in natural gas exploration projects.

Since October 2017, between 100 and 150 people including residents, alleged assailants and elements of the security forces, and now, for the first time, a consortium construction worker, have been killed.

The wave of violence erupted after an armed attack on police stations in the village of Mocimboa da Praia by a group from a local mosque preaching insurgency against the state.

Source: Lusa