Mozambique: Duo arrested in Tete over alleged ATM skimming scam
Image: TVM
A joint force of Mozambique and Rwanda military personnel in Cabo Delgado has searched 3,000 houses in Mocímboa da Praia as part of “clean-up operations” in a village that was under rebel rule for more than a year, an official source has announced.
“During patrol operations, we found uniforms [of the Defence and Security Forces – suspected to have been used by the rebels to infiltrate the ranks of government forces] and other abandoned goods in several houses,” Alberto Napovo, police commander in Mocímboa da Praia, told Televisão de Moçambique.
Over the more than a year that is was in the hands of rebels, Mocímboa da Praia – one of the few urban areas in northern Cabo Delgado – was looted, and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as energy, water and communications systems and hospitals.
In total, about 62,000 people – almost the entire population – left the coastal village due to the conflict over the last four years, starting with the mass flight in response to the intensification of rebel actions in June, 2020.
An offensive by government troops in July last year, supported by Rwandan forces and, later, those of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), increased security, and parts of the town were recovered.
“The entire area of jurisdiction of Mocímboa da Praia is controlled by the joint force, and every day we patrol areas where we suspect that there may be enemy activity,” said the commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique in Mocímboa da Praia, promising “close surveillance” as residents start returning home.
The coastal town, where armed groups carried out their first attack in October, 2017, has long been described as a rebel “base”.
Mocímboa da Praia is located 70 kilometres south of the construction area of the natural TotalEnergies-led gas project in Afungi, Palma.
Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas, but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.
The conflict has already caused more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to the Mozambican authorities.
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