Líder terrorista Bonomade Machude Omar
Maputo, 26 Mar (AIM) – A group of Islamist terrorists on Sunday abducted an unspecified number of people from the Chai administrative post, in Macomia district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
The victims were later released when a unit of Rwandan troops, who are supporting the Mozambican defence and security forces against the jihadists, appeared.
According to Wednesday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, the attack might have been carried out by the same group that was responsible for murdering one person and ambushing a truck, which was traveling from Pemba city to Mueda district, on Saturday, along National Road 380 (N380).
According to local sources, the kidnappings took place in Nova Zambézia village, where the terrorists also stole money and other possessions, especially mobile phones, from passengers in several vehicles that were ambushed on the N380.
Despite these attacks, the movement of people and goods along the road, specifically on the Macomia-Oasse stretch, has not been interrupted.
“We know it was an attack by terrorists. They stopped cars, about ten vehicles, some of which were leaving Macomia for Mocímboa da Praia and Mueda. They then took hostages and snatched goods such as telephones and money. One of the victims was robbed of fifty thousand meticais (780 US dollars at the current exchange rate)”, a source said.
Another source said that “the situation did not reach alarming proportions thanks to the arrival of Rwandan soldiers, who were transported in an armoured vehicle, which forced the attackers to take the hostages into the bush, where they ended up extorting money and goods from them.”
“We ran into a terrorist ambush near Nova Zambézia. They forced us to stop and took us into the bush. They only left us because the Rwandans turned up. They took us into the bush and forced us to hand over money and phones. They only left us when they heard the sound of the armoured car”, a source said.
(AIM)
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