Young people from Nampula caught trying to join terrorism in Cabo Delgado
(AIM) –Young people from the northern Mozambican province of Nampula have been caught joining the islamist terrorists who have been plaguing the neighbouring province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, according to the Nampula Provincial Commander of the Mozambican police (PRM), António Bashir.
In September 2022, the jihadists crossed from Cabo Delgado into Nampula, where they invaded Memba district, and attacked the Catholic mission of Chipene. They burnt down homes and murdered an 84 year old Italian nun, María De Coppi, who had lived in Mozambique since 1963.
Speaking at a session of the Nampula Development Observatory, cited on Monday by Rádio Moçambique, Bashir said “When it seems that everything is calm, there are still people engaged in grooming young men to join terrorist groups in Cabo Delgado”.
The living forces of society, according to Bashir, must redouble efforts to denounce people with dubious conduct in Nampula communities.
“We face a huge problem. Every day, we have 40 to 50 young people returning from the ranks of recruitment in Cabo Delgado. We are worried, and today, for example, I received the message that 49 young people were found on the islands of Cabo Delgado, mainly from the Nampula district of Malema. They said they went there to go fishing”, said the commander adding, “Can this practice really be true?”
Therefore, Bashir believes that there is a need to educate society, especially the youth, so that they do not fall into the hands of terrorists.
“Terrorism still continues, we have to redouble our security system”, he stressed.
Since July 2021, the Mozambican defense and security forces, with support from
Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), have been liberating districts previously occupied by the Jihadists, notably Mocímboa da Praia and the neighboring district of Palma.
(AIM)
