Road transport operators in Cabo Delgado province reported on Tuesday (19th) that the escalation of armed attacks, directly affecting their work, has reduced available services to only 25%, due to fear of ransom demands and the destruction of vehicles by insurgents.
“They are robbing transporters, the economic agents of this province,” said Cassimo Ibraimo, president of the Cabo Delgado Road Transport Association, who complained about attacks on several national roads, not just the Macomia–Awasse stretch on 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 daily sustenance because we are targets on the roads.” The official confirmed the gradual abandonment of the activity by transporters, fearful of constant threats.
He reported that many professionals have been stopped, kidnapped, and forced to hand over money. He therefore called for the reinforcement and extension of military escorts to other stretches, including the Macomia–Silva Macua route, which was also affected by attacks last month.
Faced with threats of kidnapping and destruction of cargo and passenger vehicles, some transporters said they had to pay between 200,000 and 350,000 meticais to continue their journeys, which has made operations in several areas of the province unfeasible. “The government needs to make an effort to support the private sector, because the economy—not only the transporters but also other businesses in the northern region—depends on us. When we fail, the population goes without food. We are the ones delivering food and ensuring family travel in cases of illness,” emphasized Cassimo Ibraimo.
Local businesspeople had already requested, earlier in the month, that military escorts be doubled along the 100 kilometers linking Macomia to Awasse and Mocímboa da Praia, in order to curb attacks on transporters. Between March and July, that stretch registered 104 attacks, with ransom payments demanded to allow passage, said Mamudo Irache, president of the Cabo Delgado Business Council, on August 1st.
Irache advocated for escorts twice a day, describing the widespread climate of fear: “Without paying, it was impossible to continue the journey. Either they burned the vehicle, or you paid. To avoid losing the vehicle, we had to seek support and make the payment.” According to the businessman, the sums were demanded immediately and, in some cases, paid via digital wallets.
Without military protection, the recommendation remains to avoid traveling on the N380 stretch, one of the few paved roads in the region. Since 2017, Cabo Delgado has faced an armed rebellion that has already caused thousands of deaths and triggered a humanitarian crisis, with over one million displaced. In the Chiúre district alone, in the south of the province, attacks recorded in the last week of August forced around 57,000 people to abandon their homes, according to humanitarian organizations.
Source: Lusa
