Africa-Press – Mozambique. Police in Cabo Delgado province have arrested two citizens who allegedly feigned terrorist attacks to loot goods in villages in Ancuabe district, Radio Mozambique reports.
Mário Adolfo, police spokesman in Cabo Delgado, told journalists on Sunday that work was underway to establish the connection between the detainees and the terrorists.
“There are three individuals, one of whom is still at large. It is understood that these individuals, taking advantage of the fragility of the population, instigated an atmosphere [of panic] and simulated a terrorist attack. There is an ongoing investigation into whether or not they really are part of any group of extremists. These three, posing as terrorists, set fire to some houses and scared the population of the village of Mesa away in the dead of night,” he said.
The detainees, however, deny the allegations.
“I’m a taxi driver. I don’t know, it’s for taking this man here with me [that I have been arrested]. He asked me to take his brother-in-law to fetch three sacks of corn from Napuda. If I knew he was a ‘malcriado’ [rude], I wouldn’t have taken him, because for me, it’s difficult for me to take a stranger,” one of the detainees said.
The other also denied any participation:
“I am not part of the terrorists. But I confirm that I went looking for this taxi driver to take my brother-in-law to Napuda. My brother-in-law went to his house in the village of Nnaua, in the Mariri area, in search of safety. However, driven by hunger, he decided to return to Napuda to get food, so I looked for a taxi driver,” he said.
The PRM provincial command in Cabo Delgado said that, after the terrorist attack on Nanduli village on June 5, simulated attacks were recorded in the districts of Ancuabe, Metuge and Montepuez, where citizens still at large pretended to be terrorists and set fire to houses.
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