Africa-Press – Mozambique. Despite the apparent end of the dissident group calling itself the Renamo Military Junta, armed men are still ambushing vehicles on the main roads in the central Mozambican province of Sofala.
According to a report in Friday’s issue of the newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”, unknown assailants attacked a bus on Wednesday night at the entry to Gorongosa town. The attack occurred at around 20.00, against a bus of the company City Link which was travelling from Maputo to the northern city of Nampula.
Nobody was killed or injured in the attack, although the vehicle suffered some damage. This is the second ambush reported on the stretch of the main north-south highway (EN1) between the Inchope crossroads and Gorongosa since the death of the leader of the Military Junta, Mariano Nhongo, on 11 October.
On 1 December, Mirko Manzoni, the personal envoy to Mozambique of United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, declared confidently that the Military Junta was no more. Manzoni, who is also head of the international contact group facilitating dialogue between the government and the main opposition party, Renamo, said that the last group of 24 members of the Military Junta had joined the “Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration” (DDR) of the Renamo militia.
He was sure that this “closes the chapter on the Renamo Military Junta, thus continuing to strengthen Mozambique’s efforts to consolidate a definitive peace”.
So who is attacking vehicles in the Gorongosa area? Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and so it is not known of the raiders are remnants of the Military Junta or simple highwaymen.
Meanwhile, in the far north, islamist terrorists have expanded their activities in Niassa province. On Wednesday night terrorists attacked the village of Lichengue, in Mecula district, which is just seven kilometres from the district capital, Mecula town.
The attackers burnt down houses and vandalized the mobile phone network. There were no reports of anyone killed or injured, but frightened villagers fled towards Mecula town.
In pre-dawn raids on Thursday morning, terrorists launched two attacks against vehicles in Chiconono village in Muembe district. The attackers seriously injured two people, and stole money and possessions such as cell phones from others.
The authorities have not yet conformed these attacks. It is suspected that the raiders are jihadists who crossed into Niassa from the neighbouring province of Cabo Delgado, where they have suffered serious reverses at the hands of the Mozambican defence and security forces and their allies from Rwanda and SAMIM (SADC Military Mission in Mozambique).
“Carta de Mocambique” also reported that on Wednesday local militia in the Cabo Delgado district of Macomia discovered 12 bodies in the Mucojo administrative post. It is believed that the bodies are those of terrorists who died in a shootout with a SAMIM unit last Monday.
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