– Incident occurred on the N380, south of Macomia, in an area considered relatively safe
– Victims’ families paid part of the ransom, but the four men have yet to be released
By MOZTIMES
Pemba (MOZTIMES) – Jihadist insurgents backed by the Islamic State abducted four men who worked cutting timber for companies identified as Chinese in Cabo Delgado forests. The incident occurred on Saturday night (7) and was confirmed by family sources to MOZTIMES.
According to a family source, the four men, all residents of Machova village, were intercepted about 10 kilometres south of Macomia town while returning from forests near their village, where they had loaded timber cut by the companies.
The workers were travelling in a lorry along National Road No. 380 (N380), on the stretch between ADPP (the Bilibiza junction) and Macomia, when a group of armed men believed to be insurgents ordered the vehicle to stop.
Other people were travelling in the lorry, but the insurgents selected four men, considered the youngest in the group, and forced them to get out and telephone their families to request payment of 170,000 meticais (about US$2,660) for the release of all four.
A village source explained that the families managed to raise 100,000 meticais (about US$1,560) and sent the money to the numbers provided by the abductors. However, the abductors refused to release the victims, demanding payment of the ransom in full.
“The victims were taken away by the insurgents. They refused to release them and said they would take them along and let them go once the remaining 70,000 meticais had been paid,” a family source said.
According to a local source, one of the four victims is the son of a member of the Macomia Secondary School council.
Also on Saturday, another group of small-scale loggers living in Macomia town were forced to stop working at a company in Cagembe, in the Bilibiza administrative post, Quissanga district, after noticing insurgents nearby. After the loggers fled, the militants burnt the tractor used to transport timber. Cagembe is about 20 kilometres from Machova, where the abduction occurred.
Insurgents are increasingly abducting people for ransom to finance their activities. Their main targets are passenger and freight transport operators, as well as fishers, small traders and local workers.
The abductions are restricting the free movement of people and goods along the N380, a vital road linking the northern districts of Cabo Delgado to the south of the province and the rest of the country.
The Defence and Security Forces have introduced armed escorts for vehicles on stretches of the N380 considered high-risk, but the measure has not been sufficient to stop the abductions.
Recently, a US security company announced it had secured funding from the US Department of State to provide training and logistical support to the police in Cabo Delgado, aimed at improving security on roads targeted by insurgent attacks. (MT)
