- Three women abducted by insurgents in the same area
By MOZTIMES
Pemba (MOZTIMES) – The body of a 48-year-old man bearing signs of decapitation was discovered in a farm field in Chitondo village, on the outskirts of Pundanhar locality, in Palma district, on Sunday (17).
The incident has triggered fear across the region, including in Palma town, located around 50 kilometres east of where the body was found.
“It is suspected that insurgents were responsible (for the killing), but we cannot say for certain,” a source close to the victim’s family said. “The decapitation took place on Sunday and the body was found the same day,” the source added.
In Maome village, not far from where the body was discovered, three women were abducted on the same Sunday by unidentified armed men. Residents suspect the attackers were jihadist insurgents who have been carrying out armed attacks in the region since 2017.
“A man told me that his sisters-in-law were abducted in Pundanhar, in Maome village,” a resident of Palma said.
Another military source confirmed that the security situation in Pundanhar administrative post “is not good at all”. According to the same source, an attack on Sunday resulted in the deaths of two civilians, although the village where the incident occurred was not specified.
The incidents reported in Pundanhar have fuelled a climate of insecurity in Palma town, regarded as one of the safest districts in the province alongside the provincial capital, Pemba.
Palma hosts major natural gas extraction and liquefaction projects, with approved investments estimated at around US$35 billion, led by France’s TotalEnergies and Italy’s Eni.
The district hosts several Mozambican and Rwandan defence and security forces, as well as personnel from various private security and intelligence companies tasked with protecting the gas projects. Despite this, attacks against civilian targets continue to occur. (MT)
