Farmers in Macomia, in the centre of the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, told Lusa on Monday of intense clashes in recent days between the military and alleged terrorist groups operating in the region, causing fear among the public.
According to local community sources, since the beginning of October, the Mucojo and Quiterajo regions, 40 and 70 kilometres from the capital Macomia, respectively, have been the scene of clashes between the joint military force and the rebels, causing concern among the public and peasants who work the agricultural land.
“You have to be brave to stay here, every day you hear gunshots and bombardments from Mucojo,” a farmer from Nambine told Lusa.
Another source said that the constant sound of guns has created fear, especially the fear of an attack on the public by terrorist groups.
“We’re scared, the clashes don’t stop. There in Mucojo and Quiterajo it’s all clashes, now we don’t know if the rebels won’t use this as a reason to go after the civilians, who are us,” said another farmer from Namigure.
The sound of guns and shelling also reaches the ears of the public in the town of Macomia, who also report panic since last week.
“It’s a difficult situation, the sound of guns can be heard even here in Macomia, it’s scary. We don’t know what’s next,” lamented a shopkeeper from Macomia.
Located along the EN380 national road, Macomia district is in the centre of Cabo Delgado, 200 kilometres from the city of Pemba, the provincial capital.
The Mozambique armed forces and their Rwandan counterparts announced on 25 September that they had shot down ten terrorists, in an attack that also resulted in the death of military personnel, in the forests of the Mucojo administrative post.
Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi said on 4 October that “several terrorists have been put out of action and important camps have been destroyed” of the insurgents in Cabo Delgado province, in the north of the country, and also assured that “military and propaganda material” in the possession of the insurgents had been captured.
“It is true that we continue to face the challenge of terrorism in Cabo Delgado, the fight against which has been successful, with the dismantling of the terrorists’ operations and a reduction in attacks and the return of populations” to their areas of origin, he said.
Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.
The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May on the district capital of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents ransacking the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with Mozambique’s defence and security forces and Rwandan soldiers, who are supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.
Since the beginning of August, different sources on the ground, including the local force of civil war veterans, have reported intense clashes between the joint military mission and the insurgents in the forests of the Mucojo (Macomia) administrative post, involving helicopters, armed forces and heavily armed men, with reports of shootings in places considered to be hideouts for these groups.
