Africa-Press – Mozambique. The governor of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, Valige Tauabo, promised this Saturday in Palma a new strategy to contain the offensives of terrorist groups active in the region.
Speaking to residents of the Palma district headquarters town in the local market, a day after the alleged terrorist attack that resulted in at least one death in the area, Valige Tauabo said he had travelled to Palma to convey a promise of security to the population.
“Let us keep our faith. The strategy for our security is being designed to give us the best possible protection,” Valige Tauabo told the dozens of assembled residents.
According to the governor, the assurance comes following discussions he held with local leadership and the district command of the Defence and Security Forces.
“During this short visit, we had the opportunity to hear all the information about what has happened in recent days from [community] leaders, and we also spoke with the [army] command. So, we now have a real picture of what needs to be done to ensure our security is in the best possible condition,” he said, calling for public cooperation so that the strategy being designed has an impact in guaranteeing safety in northern Cabo Delgado.
According to local sources, at least one person was shot dead in Palma early on Friday, in an alleged attack by terrorist groups.
The victim, who was taken to the local hospital but did not survive, was a young man from Palma, hit by gunfire on the outskirts of the town during the night, but the perpetrators remain unknown.
“We woke up to the sound of gunfire at about 3:00 a.m., but we don’t know who was shooting or why. A young man ended up being fatally hit,” a source in Palma who witnessed the situation from the outset told Lusa on Friday.
The incident caused unrest among residents, who called for the authorities’ intervention.
Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, rich in gas, has been targeted by terrorist attacks for eight years, with the first attack recorded on 5 October 2017, in the Mocímboa da Praia district.
Eight years after that first attack, the government stated this week that it continues to make efforts to ensure the security of people and property so that these communities can remain peacefully in their places of origin.
“And, as you can see, the movements of the terrorists have been reduced or controlled, so that attacks are now sporadic and occur only occasionally,” Council of Ministers spokesperson Inocêncio Impissa said on Tuesday.
The President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, described the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado as “barbaric acts” against “human dignity” on 6 October.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) counts 6,257 deaths over eight years of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, warning of a possible resurgence of violence.
“The situation is quite unstable. In September, the Islamic State of Mozambique (ISM) was active in 11 districts of Cabo Delgado and also crossed into Nampula at the end of the month,” ACLED researcher Peter Bofin told Lusa on the eighth anniversary of armed insurgency in the region.
ACLED, which collects and analyses data on violent conflicts and protests worldwide, reports at least 2,209 violent events in Cabo Delgado since October, 2017, with 6,257 deaths, of which 2,631 were civilians.
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