Six insurgents were shot dead by Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces (FDS) on Thursday 25 February in the village of Luneque, Nangade district, after pursuing an armed group that killed four people in an attack on the village, and injured two more.
The FDS arrived at the scene after the group of around 20 insurgents had already dispersed, a source based in Nangade town told Zitamar News, where many people from Luneke had travelled about 10km to seek refuge.
In addition, before they started their pursuit of the insurgents the FDS spent time checking the population’s use of face masks to prevent the spread of covid-19, and fined those who were not using them properly, the source said.
Another source living in Nangade, who talked to the people fleeing from Luneke, told Zitamar that when the other insurgents learnt of the death of their comrades, they returned to Luneke where they saw the bodies and, in anger, burnt the villagers’ huts and looted property.
On Monday, insurgents again blocked the passage of vehicles, people and goods on the Mueda-Nangade road, according to a source living in Nangade, thus leaving the town of Nangade isolated, like the town of Palma.
On Tuesday morning, insurgents put up barricades on the road in the Muiha area, and chased farmers away from their fields in the Namatil lowlands, the border area between Nangade and Mueda districts, the source said.
According to sources in Nangade town, other insurgents were seen moving around in the Litingina area and Eduardo Mondlane village, where on Monday they killed two people coming from a farm. Helicopters linked to the FDS continue to fly over the area, they said.
This article was produced by Zitamar and Mediafax under the Cabo Ligado project, in collaboration with ACLED. The contents of the article are the sole responsibility of Zitamar News.
