Mozambique: Armed attacks kill 15 in villages in Nangade district – Lusa

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Mozambique: Armed attacks kill 15 in villages in Nangade district – Lusa

1:12 CAT | 07 Mar 2022

FILE PHOTO - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

In Mozambique, a total of 15 people were killed between Friday and Sunday in armed attacks on three villages in Nangade district in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, local sources told Lusa.

Armed groups invaded the villages of Mbuidi, Malamba and Nangõmba, in Nangade district, the latter just one kilometre from the district capital of Nangade.

“On Friday, the terrorists attacked Mbuidi village, on Saturday they attacked Malamba community and on Sunday at around 10 a.m. they attacked Nangõmba,” reported a resident who fled from the latter village to the district headquarters.

According to the resident, locals have stopped going into their fields, despite subsistence farming being the main occupation of all families.

“Nobody goes to the machamba [fields] for fear afraid of the insurgents,” he said, adding that locals now fear “hunger during this year” in some communities.

Another source contacted by Lusa reported a bad smell in the surrounding bush, attributed to the decomposition of slaughtered bodies, some of them decapitated, and which have been left unburied due to security fears and access difficulties caused by the rains.

“In some areas there is a bad smell because with the rain and the non-stop attacks no one can bury the bodies,” he said.

Asked about whether it was possible to use the road linking Nangade to the relatively safe district of Mueda, the same source said that this had been done with an escort from the Defence and Security Forces and a local force made up of ex-combatants and civilians.

“Nobody dares to go out alone to Mueda, without an escort, because they [armed groups] attack neighbouring villages and in some cases along the main road,” he concluded.

Nangade, which borders on Tanzania, across the River Rovuma, is sandwiched between Palma and Mocímboa da Praia to the east, the scene of the main confrontations in Cabo Delgado province, and to the west Mueda, which has served as a refuge for thousands of displaced persons.

Many displaced people pass through Nangade to try to reach other parts of the province, but this is now dangerous because of the threat of attacks on the road and traffic jams.

As the government offensive against the insurgents, supported by Rwanda and Southern African Development Community (SADC), progresses, there are suspicions that rebels are also fleeing to neighbouring districts and provinces, giving rise to these new attacks on settlements.

The district of Nangade used to be one of the biggest cashew producers in Cabo Delgado province, but the worsening security situation has hampered that activity, especially after it began to be the target of frequent attacks from early February.

The province of Cabo Delgado is rich in natural gas but has since 2017 been terrorised by armed rebels with responsibility for some attacks claimed by the local affiliate of the Islamic State.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and displaced more than 859,000 people, according to the Mozambican authorities.

Source: Lusa