Mozambique: Two insurgents killed, weapons recovered in Mocímboa da Praia

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Two insurgents killed, weapons recovered in Mocímboa da Praia

8:08 CAT | 15 Jan 2024

File photo: Wikimedia Commons

Mozambican and Rwandan military personnel shot at least two insurgents this week during chases in the forests of Mocímboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado, following the attacks of recent weeks, the district administrator told Lusa on Friday.

“The FDS [Mozambique Defence and Security Forces], plus the Rwandan force, pursued the terrorists, they were found, there was combat. What we can hear is that there were two terrorists. The others fled,” Sérgio Domingos Cipriano, district administrator of Mocímboa da Praia, told Lusa .

These are insurgents and alleged terrorists who, in recent weeks, have carried out several attacks on military positions in Cabo Delgado province, near Mocímboa da Praia, resulting in at least six civilian deaths and several houses and shacks destroyed.

In addition to the death of two terrorists, the government source added, the FDS and its Rwandan counterpart recovered a variety of military equipment and goods from the population, which had been looted in the communities of Ntótwé and Chinbamga, and then handed over to the rightful owners.

“In Chimbamga we handed over six bicycles, in Ntótwé we gave the traders their merchandise that had been taken plus some of the population’s belongings and finally we handed over the military equipment to the Defence and Security Forces,” he continued.

In just a few days in December and early January, the terrorists managed to attack five communities in Mocímboa da Praia, including the villages of Ntótwé, where three civilians were killed, followed by Chinbamga, where three civilians were also killed. The insurgents then attacked the communities of Nacige, Nantadola and Chinda, the latter three with no known deaths. Despite the attacks, Sérgio Domingos Cipriano considered the situation to be “calm” in the district, although he is concerned about an alleged “wave of disinformation” claiming that the military are the ones carrying out the destruction of property in the communities.

“The situation is calm so far, it’s under control, we’re sensitising the population. There’s a fake video out there that reveals that it’s the soldiers who carry out these actions, it’s the members of the FDS, who go to the communities and then perpetrate these actions. That’s a lie, a pure lie,” he lamented.

The official also noted that this wave of attacks on civilians in Mocímboa da Praia threatens the efforts of communities currently engaged in agricultural production to reduce their dependence on foreign aid.

“It’s a bit sad because we had mobilised the population to be able to open up areas of cultivation to produce food, because the WFP [World Food Programme] has practically run out of resources. The message arrived, the population accepted it, and then this phenomenon came along and ruined everything, in fact some of the population had already sown the seed, there was a promise of good production,” added the administrator.

Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, which has led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects.

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

In addition to SAMIM, the SADC and Mozambican government forces, Rwandan troops are fighting the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, operating on the perimeter of the area where the natural gas projects in the Rovuma basin are located.

Source: Lusa