Business council condemns extreme violence in Cabo Delgado

Maputo, 19 Feb (AIM) – The Business Council of the northern Mozambican Province of Cabo Delgado has condemned the extreme violence affecting parts of the province, after a driver was forced by Islamic terrorists to pay 150,000 Meticais (about 2,300 dollars, at the current exchange rate) in exchange for his life and goods, in Quissanga district.

The assault took place on Saturday when the truck driver was on the road between Quissanga and the provincial capital, Pemba. Suddenly, the terrorists appeared and forced the driver to choose between his life and paying the money. They told him to pay the money or he and his workers would be killed and his goods would be burnt.

The assault took place after the terrorists attacked and occupied the small fishing town of Quissanga on Thursday.

According to the chairperson of the Cabo Delgado Business Council, Mamundo Irache, this situation harms the business environment and scares business people away.

“One of the cars belonging to our businessman from Quissanga district had problems. The car got stuck and he asked for help from a tractor to pull the car out. After pulling the car out, on their way to the town, he came across insurgents. They didn’t make any attack, they didn’t burn the car, and they simply tried to find out where the goods were coming from and said: We’ll burn the car along with the goods or you’ll give us 150,000 Meticais”, Irache said, cited by the independent paper “O País.”

In order to save himself and his goods, Irache explained, the driver handed over the demanded amount and he was left unharmed.

“They didn’t burn anything, they just took a sack of rice and two packets of Frozzy (a type of soft drink), and they let the cars go. There was no attack”, he said.

“The impact is very negative in these situations. Imagine if the driver didn’t have the money he was asking for, he would have been murdered. There are goods that entrepreneurs take on credit, and this leads to more losses”, he added.

When asked if the situation had already been reported to the authorities, Irache replied that a handwritten letter, supposedly from the terrorist group, is circulating on social media, stating that drivers must pay money to the jihadists in order to save their lives.

(AIM)

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