Mozambique: Nyusi asks for help to find perpetrators of Cabo Delgado attacks

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Mozambique: Nyusi asks for help to find perpetrators of Cabo Delgado attacks

2:17 CAT | 12 Feb 2020

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi has asked the population for help finding the perpetrators of the attacks which have killed more than 350 people in Cabo Delgado province, where the cabinet assembled this Tuesday.

The Mozambican government acknowledges that it has been difficult to identify the perpetrators of the armed attacks in the north of the country, and has asked for the population’s help. At popular rally in Pemba this Tuesday (11.02), President Filipe Nyusi asked citizens to denounce those behind the attacks.

“We were instructed to be on the lookout, to catch these people. Those young people who are being recruited, if they want to live well in this country, it is a matter of telling us who the there who is ordering it and saying that he is going to give this and this,” the Head of State said.

Nyusi again attributed the violence to foreigners, although that did not preclude Mozambican participation. “It’s a war driven by outsiders, people who have money,” the Head of State said. “We don’t know where they take that money to kill Mozambicans from. Maybe it’s even money from Mozambicans themselves that kills Mozambicans.”

What solutions?

Insecurity in some districts of Cabo Delgado province was one of the themes of the Council of Ministers meeting in Pemba this Tuesday.

Helena Mateus Kida, Justizminister von Mosambik — *Helena Mateus Kida: “After consultation, the Government will be in a position to decide the best strategies”*

At the end of the meeting spokesperson Helena Mateus Kida promised that the government would “continue to work on identifying the insurgents”.

Kida, who is also Minister of Justice and Constitutional and Religious Affairs, did not however elaborate on possible solutions.

“On the security situation in the province of Cabo Delgado, mainly in the north, what was done at the session was to listen to the population, to influential people and the district and provincial government, so that the government can respond with actions to address instability in Cabo Delgado province,” Kida said.

“After consultation, the government will be in a position to decide the best strategies and find effective solutions to this situation of unrest,” she said.

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The attacks in Cabo Delgado have been ongoing since 2017. According to government figures, about 32,000 families have been forced to flee their homes by the violence, and need assistance.

Problems in education and reconstruction

Another topic the Council of Ministers discussed was the impact of the rainy season, particularly in Cabo Delgado.

Infrastructure including bridges and roads had been destroyed, and some reconstruction work was being compromised by the attacks, Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, João Machatine, said.

“Work on the bridge over the Messalo river was interrupted because of the insurgents situation, and we are trying to convince our partners to resume work on these three bridges,” Machatine said. “In the meantime, we will set up a temporary metal bridge to bolster access to the northern part of the province.”

The attacks in northern Mozambique have also prevented many children from going to school. In all, more than 30,000 students and 700 teachers need shelter, Minister of Education and Human Development, Carmelita Namashulua, said.

“Our children have been cyclically instrumentalised by the evildoers’ actions,” said Namshulua.

Source: Deutsche Welle