Mozambique: Alleged terrorist arrested in Cabo Delgado village – report

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Mozambique: Alleged terrorist arrested in Cabo Delgado village – report

2:07 CAT | 20 Jan 2025

Ancuabe district, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique. [Image: Google Maps]

Authorities in the district of Ancuabe have captured an alleged member of the armed terrorist group that has been ravaging the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, local community sources told Lusa on Saturday.

The suspect began by setting fire to homes at around 11:00 p.m. on Friday in the community of Nanoa, where he is from and lives, five kilometres from the district headquarters town of Ancuabe, prompting the authorities to be alerted.

“He began vandalising homes and when he was captured, the authorities went to his home and found drugs there,” reported a source from Ancuabe.

The authorities also found in his possession medicines from the National Health Service, which they suspect were taken during the vandalism of health centres during raids by terrorist groups in various parts of Cabo Delgado.

“Because of this, he is suspected of being part of the armed terrorist group. He is a person who disappeared from the village a long time ago,” the source described.

The community of Nanoa has suffered three attacks by terrorist groups recently, two of which were large-scale, as explained by the local population: “The first time they set fire to homes and killed people, the second time as well. The third time they just passed by.”

Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado, rich in gas has been facing an armed insurrection, with some attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist Islamic State group.

The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May 2024 in the district headquarters town of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents looting the town, causing several deaths and prompting heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces and Rwandan military supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels at the time.

Source: Lusa