Mozambique: Militants Behead Four in Macomia

Maputo — A terrorist group on Saturday beheaded four people in the Bengala 2 village, a few kilometres from Macomia town, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, according to a report on the “Voice of America” radio station, cited in Monday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.

Among the victims of the jihadists was a driver of one of the trucks carrying building material for the reconstruction of the bridge over the Messalo River.

An eye-witness said the raiders rounded up several people in the village and nearby fields where they had tried to seek refuge, before beheading some of them. The terrorists also kidnapped an unspecified number of women and girls. Before they left, the raiders burnt down the village.

Elsewhere in Cabo Delgado, the situation seems to be improving. “Mediafax” reports that displaced people have now returned to their villages of origin in Muidumbe district.

“The population is returning timidly”, said the district administrator, Saide Ali Shabane. “Right now, the population has returned in virtually all the villages”.

This was due to better security – but Shabane warned “in some villages, security still needs greater control”.

Muidumbe farmers have begun to resume agricultural production, he said, but not all public services are yet functioning fully in the district.

“The administrative machine does not yet cover the whole district”, Shabane told reporters. “But within a short time, I think it could be functioning fully”.

In 2021, only three schools were operating in the entire district, but with the return of the displaced people, a further 17 schools will re-open, said Shabane. The authorities had carried out a viability study, and there were now enough children to make it possible to re-open the schools.

Last week, the General Commander of the Mozambican police force, Bernadino Rafael, visited Mocimboa da Praia district, when he told the police officers stationed there to treat with respect the people returning to their home areas.

The essential point of the police service, he said, “is to guarantee the welfare of this population. That’s an obligation, it’s not a request”.

The local population, he stressed, are partners of the defence and security forces in the fight against terrorism. “They can tell us where the enemy is, and how the terrorists and their informants are moving”, he said.