Africa-Press – Mozambique. Two people, aged 20 and 35, lost their lives this morning following an attack on an alleged agent of the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) in the Nwamatibjana neighbourhood, Matola municipality, Maputo province.
The information was confirmed to Notícias Online by Carmínia Leite, spokesperson for the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Maputo. Leite explained that the victims were travelling in a semi-public passenger transport vehicle [‘Chapa’] that was passing through the area at the time of the attack.
“One of the victims died at the scene, and the other on the way to the hospital. The alleged SERNIC agent survived; however, his vehicle was riddled with bullets,” Leite said.
In statements to Notícias, SERNIC spokesperson Judete Alexandre said that it is not yet possible to confirm whether the driver of the bullet-riddled vehicle is a member of the force.
According to local sources cited by Lusa News Agency, this incident marks the fifth violent attack of its kind in Matola since June. Unidentified individuals opened fire on a vehicle, and stray bullets hit both victims. This was confirmed to Lusa by a source from the PRM, who declined to provide further details.
Local sources also told Lusa that at least one of the victims was hit inside a transport vehicle that was travelling in the area. The vehicle was ultimately targeted by gunfire, which also left marks on another vehicle, which was immobilised near the Siduava neighbourhood, where the car chase and shootout took place.
Since June, there have been a series of violent incidents and shootings in Matola, with victims including officers linked to the security forces.
The latest incident involving Mozambican police officers occurred on the morning of September 9, when a senior sergeant was fatally shot while sitting in his vehicle in an area called Mangueiras, under the jurisdiction of the seventh police station in the T3 neighbourhood of Maputo province.
This was the fourth violent incident of this nature in Matola, a municipality on the outskirts of the capital, since June, with Mozambican police officers being the victims in two of the cases.
On July 4, at least four people were killed in a shootout with PRM officers during an operation to prevent a robbery at a construction company in Matola.
On July 2, the PRM confirmed the murder of two officers, who were shot 54 times that morning, as well as the gunshot wounding of a 78-year-old woman, also in Matola, on the outskirts of the Mozambican capital.
The first incident occurred in Matola on the evening of June 11, when an officer from the PRM’s Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) was killed with approximately 50 gunshots in the Nkobe neighbourhood by three as-yet-unidentified men.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
