Residents of the village of Mahipa, in the district of Chiúre, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, captured and handed over to authorities five suspects believed to be part of terrorist groups operating in the region, local sources told Lusa today.
According to the same sources, the incident occurred on Saturday, April 20, when locals neutralized five strangers in the village, who were immediately captured and handed over to authorities, suspected of being part of the terrorist groups that have been operating in the province of Cabo Delgado for over six years.
“In the Mahipa community, people became agitated because of five individuals. They were strangers, and the community seized and handed them over to local authorities,” said a local source.
The situation caused unrest among residents, with some opting to sleep outside their homes, they also reported.
“We panicked, some residents slept outside their houses because we don’t know, they are terrorists,” said a local source.
Some people abandoned their homes due to rumors of the presence of the terrorist group in the forests of Chiúre, south of the province, and gathered for three days at the Lúrio River checkpoint, the border between the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, along National Road 1, trying to reach the neighboring district of Erati (Namapa), but were stopped by the Defense and Security Forces, allegedly to prevent unrest.
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“My mother returned to Alaca today because I sent money for her to come back; she spent three days at the Lúrio River checkpoint with other people, they were afraid of rumors of possible terrorist presence in the Chiúre-Velho area,” another source reported from Pemba, the capital of the province.
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency with attacks claimed by groups associated with the Islamic State.
After several months of relative calm, the province of Cabo Delgado has experienced new movements and attacks by rebel groups in recent months, which have restricted movement to some points on the few paved roads providing access to various districts.
The insurgency prompted a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda, with over 2,000 soldiers, and the Southern African Development Community, freeing districts near natural gas projects.
Source: Lusa
First published by: Club Of Mozambique
