Police arrest 29 recruits on their way to join terrorist groups in Cabo Delgado – AIM report

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Police arrest 29 recruits on their way to join terrorist groups in Cabo Delgado – AIM report

4:21 CAT | 15 Sep 2022

Photo: Notícias

The Mozambican Police has arrested 29 people in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, including two women, who were allegedly recruited to join the ranks of terrorists.

Zacarias Nacute, spokesperson for the Mozambican police in the neighbouring province of Nampula, told journalists on Tuesday that the suspects were detained in high-risk areas in the districts of Palma, Quissanga and Macomia, all in Cabo Delgado.

Nacute explained that police became suspicious by the presence of these individuals, because most of them are residents in Nacala and Memba districts, both in Nampula.

When asked by the Cabo Delgado police most suspects gave the same excuse saying they had been hired to work in fishing boats, but the authorities that’s believe that’s a disguise.

‘These individuals were hired in the risk areas, supposedly to join terrorist groups. They are now in our custody and we will eventually sent them back home if the justice authorities do not think otherwise”, he said.

Nacute did not rule out the possibility that some were unaware that they were being recruited to join terror groups and the gravity of their situation.

‘The police were tipped off that these individuals were about to join terrorists groups. Therefore, they were detained and sent back to Nampula where they will join their families”, he explained.

Some of the detainees claim that they were looking for jobs in fishing boats when they were arrested, but were unable to name their employer.

One woman, who claim to be from Palma district in Cabo Delgado said to have hired seven men residents in Nacala, aged between 22 and 30, to work for her fishing boat.

‘I left Macomia (Cabo Delgado) and went to Nacala, where I bought fishing nets and hired people, especially men, to work on my boat in the district of Palma”, she said.

‘There are people there in Cabo Delgado on my boat, but I’m not willing to do so because they are problematic and do not work hard enough’, she added.

This comes at a time when the authorities in Nampula province, at all levels, including religious leaders, urge local populations to remain vigilant against suspicious activities.

Last week, a group of terrorists launched an incursion in Eráti and Memba districts, where they beheaded at least six people and kidnapped many others.

On Tuesday, the Secretary of State for Nampula, Mety Gondola, reassured that in the port city of Nacala, that life is back to normal and that the State administration institutions are working normally.

Source: AIM