Africa-Press – Mozambique. A group of Islamist terrorists last Thursday kidnapped three minors in a surprise attack in Mumo village, Mocímboa da Praia district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
According to sources cited by the Portuguese News Agency LUSA, the kidnapping occurred when the terrorists invaded the region and took two girls aged 12 and 13, and a 14-year-old boy.
“The assailants entered the village without firing any shots, probably to avoid alarming the public, and took the children. The children’s whereabouts are unknown at this time”, a source said.
The local authorities were informed of the incident, and a search of communities is now underway to try to locate the victims. The administrator of Mocímboa da Praia, Sérgio Cipriano, went to the village to provide support to the households affected.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been expressing its concern at the increase in cases of the kidnapping of minors by armed groups in Cabo Delgado, saying that there is a need to “strengthen activities aimed at protecting the children in the affected regions, preventing the recruitment of child soldiers.”
