Amnesty urges probe of 'reckless' Mozambique crackdown on protests
Population abandons village in Sofala after armed attack
2:47 CAT | 06 Sep 2016
DW / The 'regulo' of Nhampoca village and the head of the administrative post of Tica have been kidnapped and shot dead by gunmen who may be linked to Renamo. Now residents leave taking with them everything they can.
The villagers of Nhampoca in Nhamatanda district, Sofala province, central Mozambique, abandoned their homes on Monday 5 September after an armed attack that left two dead on Friday 2 September.
According to information from the Mozambican government, the attack was the work of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo). The two victims are the Nhampoca village regulo [traditional leader] and the head of the Tica administrative post. Both were killed after being abducted during a meeting at which they were asking the population not to abandon their town, despite ongoing military tension.
On Monday, residents of Nhampoca could be seen abandoning their houses, carrying everything they could. Most were heading towards the villages of Muda, Tica and the village headquarters of Nhamatanda.
“We carry metal plates, food, everything. We are looking for a more secure place to stay. I’m going to Tica, to the house of my sister. I will stay there one or two weeks,” said one resident.
A tense village
Residents of Nhampoca say that the clashes in the area began two weeks ago when a group of Defence and Security Forces of Mozambique (FADM) came to the village on patrol in response to reports of armed groups linked to Renamo in the area.
“There was a noise and these FADM men came, burning everything: stalls and grindstones; they took goats and food. (Now) I see my neighbours taking their plates and fleeing with their children I can not stay here alone, I am also carrying my luggage and getting out,” the resident says.
The Nhamatanda administrator, Manuel Boavida, has tried to reassure the population, calling for calm and for people to remain in their homes. He assures them that reinforcements will arrive to ensure law and order.
“In our case, in Nhamatanda, we are carrying out selective operations aimed at disabling all criminals who seek to destabilise the population,” Manuel says.
Defence of the population
Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario meanwhile has encouraged the Defence and Security Forces to defend people from attacks attributed to the armed wing of Renamo.
“We encourage the Defence and Security Forces to defend people relentlessly from these reprehensible Renamo attacks,” Carlos Agostinho do Rosario said at the opening ceremony of an education and military training session in Matola, near Maputo.
Friday’s attack
Isequiel Mambasse, head of the local government office supported by the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo), witnessed what happened during a popular meeting last Friday (September 2) in Nhampoca.
He says that men arrived and tried to stop the event.
“They arrived at the rally and ordered it to stop .Then they asked who the people were who were burning houses in the village, the people, because they were afraid, said: that it had been the FADM military in the area,” he said.
Other witnesses say that one of the gunmen had been there all along, but the other armed men came out of the woods, stopped the rally, and ordered the population to leave. Then they kidnapped the regulo, the chief of the administrative post and his secretary. The latter was released and ordered to report the occurrence to the district administrator.
More attacks
The government registered another armed attack attributed to Renamo over the weekend, in the village of Mavonde, Manica district, Manica province. One person was killed and three seriously injured.
DW Africa contacted Renamo for clarification on the government statements, but without receiving a reply.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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