Maputo, 07 Oct (AIM) – At least four people that had been kidnapped by the Islamist terrorists last Wednesday, in Maulela village, Ntamba Administrative Post, Nangade District, northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, were released on Sunday following the payment of an unspecified ransom.
According to sources, cited by the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, the four victims were released after their families paid a ransom. In addition to kidnapping the four individuals, the terrorists beheaded one person, looted several products from local businesses.
In the most recently reported incident, the terrorists released five victims upon payment of a ransom of 185,000 meticais (2,800 US dollars at the current exchange rate).
Sources also explained that the region remains gripped by fear, with residents abandoning their homes at night to seek hiding places, returning only after sunrise.
According to the latest Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) assessment by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Cabo Delgado remains the region hosting the largest number of internally displaced people in Mozambique, accounting for 68 percent of the national total, corresponding to 449,876 people.
NGOs point out that insurgents continue to rely on targeted kidnappings to enforce forced recruitment, exact extortion, and secure forced labor along key maritime and coastal routes.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), violence against civilians remains the primary driver of these events, with over 59 percent of reported cases involving direct armed aggression. These violent acts recently resulted in at least 10 civilian fatalities and the kidnapping of 72 individuals, while widespread looting, village raids, and extortion continue to restrict humanitarian access and trigger fresh displacement among vulnerable populations.
Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) points out that the conflict has caused more than 6,600 deaths across over 2,400 violent events since its beginning, with the vast majority attributed to terrorists linked to the Islamic State.
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