Mozambique: “We are going through terror and fear, hidden in our homes” – sources in Mocímboa da Praia

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Mozambique: “We are going through terror and fear, hidden in our homes” – sources in Mocímboa da Praia

4:07 CAT | 23 Mar 2020

File photo: DW

Residents of Mocímboa da Praia, northern Mozambique, described a scenario of “terror and fear” in the town where an unidentified group this morning attacked a barracks of the defence and security forces and hoisted their flag.

“We have been hiding in our homes since dawn and the situation is not at all calm. At the moment we are talking, they are shooting,” says a trader residing in the Nanduadué neighbourhood, the site of the mosque where the followers of the insurgency against the state met and planned the first attack of the wave of armed violence in October 2017.

The attacks began around 4:00 am and the groups set up barricades at the main entrances to the Mocimboa da Praia, according to information from the spokesman for the Mozambican police general command, Orlando Mudumane.

Reports heard by Lusa indicated that the population is closed inside their homes and that gunshots and shouts of confrontation are heard in various locations in the town, alongside the circulation of at least one armoured vehicle.

“My family has nothing to eat because I cannot go out. I have children here, 5 and 2 year-olds, we have nothing to eat. They are strolling here in the neighbourhoods. We were alarmed when we heard the commander-general [Bernardino Rafael] saying they are chasing the bad guys, it’s all a lie. The situation is bad. We are living in fear, ” added the trader.

Another source, residing in Mocímboa da Praia, describes a “situation of terror” and attacks on infrastructure.

“Insurgents are scattered, mainly in the peripheral neighbourhoods. There are frequent clashes between their groups and the defence forces. There are burnt down houses and vandalised infrastructure. We are experiencing terror and fear,” said the witness, who also remains hidden at home.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been the target of attacks by armed groups, which international organisations have classified as a terrorist threat and which in two and a half years has claimed at least 350 deaths, in addition to 156,400 affected, due to the loss of property or forced to abandon home and land in search of safe places.

These attacks have occurred mainly in rural areas, but Mocímboa da Praia is one of the main urban centres in the region, the seat of the district, served by the only paved road that crosses the province and with an aerodrome capable of receiving international flights.

This is the town where the armed threat that has plagued Cabo Delgado began in October 2017.

Mocímboa da Praia is 90 kilometres south of Palma, a district where international megaprojects for natural gas exploitation are being built.

Source: AIM