Land mine kills child in Mocimboa da Praia

Maputo, 13 Jun (AIM) – A ten year old child lost his life, on Tuesday, in the village of Mbau, Mocímboa da Praia district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, after stepping on a land mine, according to a report in Thursday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique.”

According to the paper, it is presumed that several mines, in the region, were laid by the islamist terrorists who tried to launch an attack against Mbau last Saturday.

“That day, some terrorists were captured. But it is suspected that they left mines on the outskirts of the village and, this Tuesday, a child stepped on one of the devices and it immediately exploded. The child was rescued by the Rwandan forces [who are helping the Mozambican forces to fight terrorists in the region], but still lost his life”, said one of the paper’s sources.

According to another source, “I think the terrorists first mined the area and then started shooting to force the Rwandan soldiers to move and step on the devices.”

The mines were later defused by the Rwandan forces.

In recent days, terrorists have resorted to the use of mines as a strategy to combat the coalition of Mozambican forces and their allies.

The use of mines was also reported in Mucojo village, in Macomia district.

The report of the death of a minor due to the mine explosion comes shortly after the administrator of Mocímboa da Praia, Sérgio Cipriano, said that life in Mbau had returned to normal, with the population once again farming their fields.

Mozambique was declared free of land mines in September 2015 after two decades of intensive demining operations in which about 171,000 of these lethal devices were cleared. Mozambique became the first major mine-contaminated country to be completely freed of this menace,

But now the murderous activity of the jihadists in Cabo Delgado is threatening to undo that victory.

(AIM)

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