Africa-Press – Mozambique. Road transport operators in Cabo Delgado province reported this Tuesday (19-08) that the worsening armed attacks, with attendant fears of ransom demands and the destruction of vehicles by insurgents, have reduced their available service to just 25% of previous levels.
“They are robbing the transport operators, the economic agents of this province,” said Cassimo Ibraimo, president of the Cabo Delgado Road Transport Operators Association ( ATROCAD), who complained of attacks on several national roads, not only on the Macomia-Awasse section of the N380, where traffic has been operating under military escort since July.
According to Ibraimo, the situation is truly terrifying: “75% of our vehicles can no longer provide our daily bread because we are targets on the roads.”
Ibraimo claims that many professionals have been stopped, kidnapped or forced to hand over money, recommending the reinforcement and expansion of military escorts to other sections, including the Macomia-Silva Macua route, also hit by attacks last month.
Faced with kidnapping threats and the destruction of cargo and passenger vehicles, some transporters report paying between 200,000 and 350,000 meticais to continue their journeys, which has made their operations impossible in several areas of the province.
“The government must make an effort to support the private sector, because the economy, not only the transporters but also the other businesses in the northern region, depends on us. When we fail, the population runs out of food. We are the ones who bring the food and ensure family transportation in times of illnesses,” Ibraimo stressed.
Earlier this month, local business owners requested the doubling of military escorts along the 100 kilometres connecting Macomia to Awasse and Mocímboa da Praia. Mamudo Irache, president of the Cabo Delgado Business Council, said on August 1, that 104 attacks in which ransoms were extorted were recorded between March and July on this section of road.,
Irache called for convoys to pass twice a day, describing the widespread climate of fear: “Without paying, there was no way to continue the journey. Either they burned the car or I paid. To avoid losing the vehicle, we had to ask for support and make the payment.” According to the businessman, the sums were demanded immediately and, in some cases, paid through digital wallets.
The recommendation remains not to travel on this section of the N380, one of the few paved roads in the region, without military protection.
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