The authorities in the town of Mocímboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, have revealed that security in the area has been reinforced during the early hours of the morning, limiting the movement of people in order to ‘maintain vigilance’ in the face of possible terrorist attacks.
The town’s mayor, Helena Bandeira, explained that the measure is also aimed at stopping the movement of strange vehicles and motorbikes at night, which has raised concerns.
‘It’s not really a curfew, because we move around, it’s a restriction, a form of security so that we can keep an eye on things because of the situation we’ve had in previous years,’ she said, quoted by Lusa.
Publications say that since the beginning of August, there have been reports of intense clashes in the forests of the Mucojo administrative post, in the Macomia district, almost 100 kilometres from Mocímboa da Praia, involving helicopters, armoured vehicles and heavily armed men, with references to shootings in places considered to be hiding places for these groups.
The coastal town, where armed groups carried out their first attack in October 2017 and for a long time described as the rebels’ “base”, was looted and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as the power, water, communications and hospital systems.
At the time, the authorities estimated that around 62,000 people had left the coastal town as a result of the conflict, particularly the mass flight that took place after the intensification of rebel actions in June 2020.
Mocímboa da Praia is located 70 kilometres south of the construction area of the natural gas exploration project in Afungi, Palma, led by TotalEnergies.
