Africa-Press – Mozambique. Residents of Macomia district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, faced moments of panic over the weekend, following several clashes between the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and a group of islamist terrorists.
According to local residents, the clashes took place in northern regions of the Quiterajo and Mucojo administrative posts. However, so far no fatalities have been recorded.
“The work is continuing. Our forces are still committed to removing the terrorists who are in the Quiterajo forests, specifically in the Katupa area, where the groups are concentrated. But a joint effort is being made by the Mozambican and Rwandan forces to expel the enemy from that area”, said Macomia administrator, Tomás Badae, speaking to reporters on Friday.
As a result of the operation, there are restrictions on the movement of the population in that region.
As for the return of displaced people to their houses, Badae said that at least 22,000 people have already returned to the Mucojo and Chai administrative posts, “as a result of the improved security conditions.”
According to the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, a group of terrorists recently raided Pangane village, where they looted foodstuffs and kidnapped some people. They released them later when unspecified amounts of money were paid via mobile wallets.
In Mueda district, attempts to solve a chronic shortage of drinking water are being hampered by terrorist activities. The Mueda plateau is a fertile area, but agriculture is almost entirely rain-fed. There are no watercourses on the plateau.
Ever since Mozambican independence in 1975, successive governments have been promising to bring water to the plateau. But making water flow uphill depends on building effective pumping systems, and so far all solutions have failed.
According to a report in the independent daily “O Pais”, the latest solution proposed for Mueda municipality is to build a dam on the Muela river, but with the increase in terrorist raids, this project has been paralysed. The municipality believes that the water problems can be solved “within two years”.
The administrator of Mueda district, Patricio Mavili, has confirmed that the authorities have imposed a night time curfew on Mueda town. Nobody is allowed to move around the town after 21.00.
Mavili explained this as a security measure. He claimed that movement at night might confuse the defence and security forces. “How can the defence and security forces control and defend the public, because we are all the same colour”, he said. “This is a war between brothers”.
But Mavili then added that the curfew is not compulsory, despite the continuing terrorist threat.
A curfew would clearly violate the constitutional guarantee of freedom of movement. Neither district administrators nor municipal mayors have any legal power to impose curfews.
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