Mozambique: Insurgents release about 60 fishermen after three days

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Mozambique: Insurgents release about 60 fishermen after three days

7:00 CAT | 15 Aug 2024

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

The rebel groups that have been carrying out armed attacks in Cabo Delgado have freed around 60 fishermen who had been kidnapped on Saturday in Mocímboa da Praia, a source from the district government told Lusa on Thursday.

The victims were captured early on Saturday evening on an island located almost 10 miles from the district headquarters while they were fishing and, for three days, were forced by the rebels to go on their boats, first to Macomia and then to Quissanga, where they were released on Tuesday without a clear explanation, Benjamim Isaque, permanent secretary of the Mocímboa da Praia district, told Lusa.

‘After three days, the 56 fishermen they had taken were released. They weren’t treated badly by the insurgents, they didn’t lose any property, and now they’re back with their families,’ said the permanent secretary of the Mocímboa da Praia district.

Benjamim Isaque said that the situation in the district is under control, emphasising that government forces are continuing their investigations.

‘Our control is total. The joint forces continue to do their work. The movement of goods and people continues. This happened on an island, so we can’t go into too much detail about the situation there at the moment, but overall control is total,’ he emphasised.

READ: Mozambique: Terrorists kidnap 60 in Mocímboa da Praia district – AIM

The coastal town was where armed groups carried out their first attack in October 2017 and was long described as the rebels’ “base”.

After months in rebel hands, Mocímboa da Praia was looted, and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as the power, water, communications and hospital systems, making it one of the priority points for infrastructure recovery after the first signs of security stabilisation.

In total, around 62,000 people, almost the entire population, have left the coastal town due to the conflict that began five and a half years ago, with the highlight being the mass flight that took place after the intensification of rebel actions in June 2020.

Mocímboa da Praia is located 70 kilometres south of the construction area of the natural gas exploration project in Afungi, Palma, led by TotalEnergies.

Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion since October 2017, with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.

The population of other districts in the province has reported the movement of these insurgent groups, who cause panic as they pass through the forests. Still, there have been no reports of clashes at a time when farmers are trying to carry out harvest work in the fields.

Source: Lusa