Three civic education agents murdered

Maputo, 11 Mar (AIM) – Three electoral civic education officers were murdered on Sunday, after they were mistaken for Islamist terrorists in the region of Catupa, in Chiúre district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

The crime was carried out by members of the peasant militia known as “Naparamas”, who have allied with the defence and security forces in fighting against the terrorists who have been plaguing some districts of Cabo Delgado since 2017.

The murders took place five days after the start of the civic education campaign ahead of the presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections scheduled for 9 October.

The director of the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE) in Cabo Delgado, Cassamo Camal, told reporters “Yes, I can confirm the assassination of STAE officers. I happened to be there this morning to try to understand what had happened, and to talk to the local authorities, namely the head of the administrative post and the local police. The officers on duty were intercepted and then killed.”

“It was the Naparamas who carried out the act. They mistook the officers for terrorists”, Camal added.

The STAE directorate in Cabo Delgado claims that this is the first case of its kind since the jihadist attacks began in 2017.

“In the past, all the processes that have taken place have not had any problems of this nature”, he said, adding “we would like the communities, the government, the village chiefs, the village chairpersons, the heads of posts and localities to support the young members of the civic education brigades.”

Chiúre district has been the scene of unrest in recent days as terrorists swept in from the north, driving thousands of people across the provincial boundary into Nampula province.

(AIM)

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