Mozambique: Three insurgents hand themselves in to authorities in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: Three insurgents hand themselves in to authorities in Cabo Delgado

12:24 CAT | 09 Nov 2021

File photo: Lusa

Three members of the armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, have handed themselves in to the authorities due to hunger and lack of survival conditions, local sources told Lusa.

The three men presented themselves on 2 November in the village of Quinto Congresso, a settlement belonging to the administrative post of Chai, in Macomia district.

After surrendering, they were presented before the authorities in Chai, where they left three firearms which they used to attack the military and civilians.

When questioned, they claimed to have abandoned the fighting “for lack of conditions”, with no food other than what they found in the bush and no support logistics.

They complained of “not knowing the financier and even less the real motivations of the war”.

Macomia district, in the south of Cabo Delgado, is where armed rebels have been roaming, after military forces destroyed bases in the north, putting them to flight.

The offensive by government troops gained momentum in July, with the support of Rwanda, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowing them to increase security and recover several areas where rebels had been present, including the town of Mocímboa da Praia, which had been occupied since August 2020.

The province of Cabo Delgado, rich in natural gas, has been terrorised since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.

Source: Lusa