Africa-Press – Mozambique. The president of the Cabo Delgado Business Council, Mamudo Irache, told Lusa on Monday that businesspeople in the Mozambican province are “in despair” with the return of terrorist attacks in recent weeks, which have also affected economic recovery.
“We were recovering our activities. We hoped for a return and recovery,” lamented Mamudo Irache.
For the Cabo Delgado business representative, this new wave of terrorist attacks, which has been going on since December, makes the province’s companies apprehensive.
“Since rumours of the resumption of activities in the Rovuma basin began, the ‘Jihad’ has intensified its activities, it has resumed terrorist activity in the region, and this has brought great despair to the businesspeople of our province,” he said, noting that lorries are staying for several days in the town of Macomia, in the central region of Cabo Delgado, waiting for an escort to reach the north.
“It’s sad to see lorries and trucks stranded in Macomia. These are costs that businesspeople are having at the moment, without knowing when this worry will end,” he continued.
On the other hand, Mamudo Irache laments the lack of state support for entrepreneurs in Cabo Delgado, especially those who have been affected by the terrorist actions. “We’ve heard of various forms of support, but they never reach the entrepreneurs. But it’s the same businesspeople who are insecure about their investments who are there. So the situation for the business sector is not good.”
Against this backdrop, he says, Cabo Delgado’s businesspeople “are managing in their own way”.
For Assif Osman, a long-time businessman in Cabo Delgado province, the attacks are not only worrying local companies but the rest of the country as well, jeopardising the economic recovery.
“Now there were beginning to be signs that the country, after having gone through a relatively long period of preparation, of adapting to the new reality, was in a position to take off, and I still believe that it is. This news is not at all encouraging, but I would like to stress once again that I have every hope that this is a one-off situation and that our Defence and Security Forces will quickly be able to overcome it,” said the businessman.
People in the district of Chiúre, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, today denounced a new attack by insurgent groups that caused at least four deaths and the destruction of various infrastructures.
Local community sources told Lusa that last Saturday, the insurgents attacked the community of Magaia, in the administrative post of Mazeze, in that northern district of the country, causing four deaths among the population.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of attacks by insurgent groups in various villages and on the roads of Cabo Delgado, including stopping vehicles, kidnapping drivers and demands for money from the population to drive on some roads.
Last week, the extremist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in Macomia, Cabo Delgado, which killed at least 20 people. It was one of the most violent attacks in several months.
Through propaganda channels, the terrorist group documented the attack on a position of the Mozambican armed forces, carrying military material, and also claimed another attack in Chiúre.
On Tuesday, an attack was confirmed, also later claimed by ISIS, in the Chiúre district, with the destruction of several infrastructures and churches.
Cabo Delgado province has been facing attacks claimed by IS for six years, which led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects.
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