Terrorists murder four in Ancuabe village

Islamist terrorists on Saturday murdered at least four people in an attack against Ntutupue village, in Ancuabe district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

According to a report in Sunday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”, the four victims were beheaded, two while they were working in their fields. It is feared that the bodies of other victims are yet to be discovered. An unknown number of young men were kidnapped by the attackers.

This was the third attack in Ancuabe district in about a week. The attacks have caused panic, both in Ancuabe, and in the provincial capital, Pemba, which is about 50 kilometres from Ntutupue.

 
Some Ancuabe residents have fled to the town of Chiure, and the Chiure authorities have banned vehicles from leaving the town.

The attacks in Ancuabe have affected some of the major economic undertakings in the district. Work on the solar power station at Metoro has been interrupted. Immediately after the attack against Nanduli village, the Portuguese contractor building the power station, Efacec, raised the security alert on the site to level six, and evacuated all the workers, including security guards.

Security at Metoro is now in the hands of the Mozambican defence and security forces. The Metoro plant, with a 41 megawatt capacity, will be the largest solar power station in the country. It is owned by a partnership between the Mozambican electricity company EDM and the French renewable energy company, Neon.

Syrah Resources and Triton, two Australian companies operating graphite mines in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, have suspended all travel to their area of operations, following the initial terrorist attacks in Ancuabe.

(AIM)