Mozambique| Just In: Four murdered in Matola this morning
File photo: Lusa
Defence and Security Forces have captured three individuals suspected of murdering two citizens in the Nangade district of Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, two weeks ago.
The suspects, all residents of Nangade, include a former community leader, according to local sources quoted by Radio Mozambique.
The victims, one of whom was the principal of Nangade Elementary School, were attacked with machetes on January 30 as they were traveling by motorcycle along a dirt road near the village of Mwangaza, at the start of the school year.
The governor of Cabo Delgado, Julio Paruque, visited Nangade on Sunday to deliver a message of support for the families of the victims and appealed to the community to remain vigilant.
“We have children in Nangade who allow themselves to be bought by the evildoers. This is a great concern that obliges us to organise ourselves and, above all, unite ourselves, always to be vigilant,” Governor Parruque said.
Speaking during the inauguration of new Armed Forces personnel in Maputo, Mozambique’s Defence Minister Atanásio Mtumuke said that the situation was under control, with Defence Forces still on the ground.
“In terms of population, everything works. Defence and security forces are there to ensure security,” Minister Mtumuke said, adding that “the orchestra is playing outside and the music is danced to inside”, alluding to the possible involvement of foreigners in the attacks on remote villages in Cabo Delgado.
Violence in Cabo Delgado has been in the public eye since an armed attack on police in Mocimboa da Praia in October 2017, in which two agents were killed by a group from a local mosque preaching insurgency against the state, whose presence had been a source of friction with residents for at least two years.
The attacks, which have already caused nearly 100 deaths, have always occurred in remote areas (with the exception of the initial attack on Mocímboa da Praia) and well away from any infrastructure belonging to the oil companies preparing to exploit natural gas on the Afungi peninsula in the district of Palma.
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