Mozambique: Assassins strike in central Maputo – AIM report

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Mozambique: Assassins strike in central Maputo – AIM report

8:46 CAT | 12 Mar 2020

Photo: Moçambique Interativo

Unknown assailants on Wednesday shot dead a man believed to be a member of the Mozambican police force in the heart of Maputo, and made their getaway unhindered.

The murder took place at about 18.00, when the streets were still very busy. The victim’s car has driven up John Issa Street, which means he had almost certainly come from the headquarters of the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), which is in that street.

At the junction with 24 July Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, the car had to stop because the avenue was congested. At that moment, another car drew up alongside, and peppered the victim’s Toyota with bullets.

Just to make sure, some of the gunmen got out of the vehicles, opened the door of the victim’s car, and shot him several times in the head.

A local street vendor told the independent television station STV “I was here selling fruit, when suddenly I saw two cars coming up John Issa Street. We heard shots and we were all frightened. When we thought it was over, the bandits got out of their car, and shot their victim inside his own vehicle”.

Another eye-witness said “three people got out of the car to kill that man. But we did not see their faces because they were wearing masks”.

The gunmen were shooting indiscriminately, and two passers-by were hit by stray bullets and needed medical care.

The murder occurred within a stone’s throw of SERNIC headquarters. The site of the killing is also very near the Maputo City Police Command and the Ministry of the Interior. Yet the assassins seem to have made a clear getaway.

So far the victim has not been named, and the police have made no comment.

Source: AIM