Siduava residents call for an end to military training after 6-year-old boy’s death – Mozambique

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Siduava residents call for an end to military training after 6-year-old boy’s death – Mozambique

11:25 CAT | 08 May 2018

Photo: O País

More than a hundred Siduava residents marched to the presidency building in Maputo on Monday to demand a halt to the military activity that last week resulted in the death of a six-year old boy in their neighbourhood.

Singing religious songs, the demonstrators left the Jardim dos Professores for the presidency in order to present their concerns to the head of state, Filipe Nyusi.

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Siduava residents say that the military training puts their lives at risk. They complain that it is the second time they have staged such a march, and that they have previously sent letters to the president, but without receiving a satisfactory answer.

Monday’s march lasted about half an hour. Demonstrations in front of the presidency resulted in representatives being invited inside for discussions, and some time later it was announced that the presidency would refer the matter to Maputo province governor Raimundo Diomba.

Residents also complain about land-grabs and mistreatment by soldiers. The conflict over land, protesters told O País, has lasted for eight years, the military barracks having been built in 1981 on land people had used for vegetable gardens since 1974.

By Aaron Nualane

Source: O País