Africa-Press – Mozambique. A group of Islamist terrorists have invaded the Kambako hunting ground, in the Niassa reserve, on the border of the northern provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado, and taken an unspecified number of people hostage.
Kambako is one of the hunting areas in the Niassa Special Reserve, but territorially it is located in Cabo Delgado, not far from the districts of Meluco, Montepuez and Mueda.
The attack, believed to be the work of the same terrorists who have been operating in several of the districts of Cabo Delgado, took place on 19 April. The camp is on the border between the two provinces, along the Lugenda River, a major tributary of the Rovuma.
According to sources cited in Thursday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, it is not yet known who the hostages are.
The Niassa Special Reserve contains six hunting blocks managed by private companies. Kambako is one of the largest hunting operators in Mozambique. There are fears in the industry that this incursion will eventually lead to the cancellation of game tourists’ bookings not only for the hunting blocks in Niassa, but also for other hunting areas in Mozambique, which would be a disaster for the businesses and for their employees.
The sector has been growing since the Covid-19 pandemic. According to “Carta de Mocambique”, as well as generating much-needed tax revenue, the hunting industry, which has a turnover of more than ten million dollars a year, also provides private sector security for the Niassa reserve.
Illegal hunters trying to reach the reserve to poach its rich wildlife must first pass through the hunting blocks and the security guards that surround them.
Responding to the attack, members of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM) were deployed to Kambako on Tuesday.
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