Maputo, 26 Feb (AIM) – Residents of Mocímboa da Praia district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, are facing moments of panic following the reported movement of Islamist terrorists in the region.
The climate of fear and tension comes after the residents of Milamba neighbourhood, in Mocímboa da Praia town, noticed that, since last Monday, several streets have been blocked by heavy objects to prevent the free movement of people and their goods.
According to Wednesday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, it seems that the barricades were set up in that neighbourhood on Monday night. This is an area where many young people are believed to have left in the past to join the terrorists.
“We had strange movements here in Mocímboa da Praia, in my aunt’s street. We saw barricades (with a large coconut tree trunk left in the way), which blocked traffic. This is the first time this has happened since the return of the displaced families”, a source said.
According to another resident, “on a road that goes to the beach, they also put up a barricade and the road was blocked. We don’t know what happened, everyone has their own version, but we don’t know who did it. It was all done during the night”.
These sources said that the situation has been reported to the authorities.
“We also heard that a driver received a call from strangers demanding 50,000 meticais (782,000 dollars at the current exchange rate). These people said they were outside his house and there were ten of them. He asked where they were exactly, but they didn’t answer. He looked outside, didn’t see anyone and hung up”, another source said.
Residents explained that what intrigues them is the fact that the situation is taking place in an area that is regularly patrolled by the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS).
“We’re scared, because this happened at a time when we have information that the terrorists are in Ulo and here in Mocímboa-Velha. Are they terrorists or rioters? If they are terrorists, why did they act at night?”, one resident said.
The erection of barricades in Mocímboa da Praia and the movement of terrorist groups in the same district, which is where the first terrorist attacks occurred in 2017, took place on the same day that Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, told a rally in Pemba that the government is committed to the fight against terrorism and also against violent demonstrations which, “are not different from attacks perpetrated by terrorists.”
(AIM)
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