Maputo, 5 Mar (AIM) – The authorities in Ibo district, off the coast of the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, have decreed a curfew in response to the raid by islamist terrorists against the island of Quirimba, reports Tuesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.
The terrorist group entered Quirimba from Quissanga district, on the mainland, on Sunday morning, and it was feared that the district capital, Ibo island, would be their next target.
Interviewed by Radio Mozambique, the Ibo district administrator, Issa Tarmamade, said the authorities have decreed a curfew starting at 20.00.
“As from 20.00, everything should be closed, and there should be few people on the streets”, he declared. “That’s the time when our security forces should be working”.
Tarmamade added that the security situation in Quirimba was affecting fishermen in Ibo town. He said that very few fishing boats dared put out to sea on Monday.
The authorities are also closely monitoring transport between Ibo and the provincial capital, Pemba. The defence and security forces must be notified about any boat travelling from Pemba to Ibo, and vice versa, to prevent terrorists from infiltrating among the passengers.
“The boats from Pemba to Ibo normally carry foodstuffs”, said Tarmamade. “But we have to speak the same language. We have to know how many boats are going from Pemba to Ibo today, and from Ibo to Pemba. Everything much be checked with the owners of the boats, the crews and the passengers”.
“The enemy has various faces”, he added. “So it is important to step up our vigilance to know who is who on the island”.
As for Quissanga, the paper’s sources insisted that, up until Monday afternoon, the jihadists were still in Quissanga town.
(AIM)
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