- Islamists behead people found producing traditional alcoholic drinks
- Islamic State claims responsibility for killing 14 people last week in the two predominantly Makonde districts
By MOZTIMES
Pemba (MOZTIMES) – At least five people were beheaded by jihadist insurgents between Friday and Saturday on farms in the low-lying areas of Muidumbe and Mueda districts, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
Residents of Mueda who contacted their relatives in the provincial capital, Pemba on Saturday said two people had been beheaded that morning, shortly after arriving at their farms. The victims were residents of Agrícola village, situated a few kilometres from Namaua village, the birthplace of Mozambique’s former President, Filipe Nyusi.
According to residents’ accounts, the two people had gone to work on their farms in low-lying areas.
Meanwhile, in Muidumbe district, residents told MOZTIMES that three other people had been beheaded in a low-lying area belonging to Muatide village. Mueda and Muidumbe districts are considered the heartland of Mozambique’s Makonde ethnic group.
According to the same sources, the three victims were found by jihadist insurgents on Friday while producing an alcoholic drink from sugar cane, which is abundant in the region. The production of spirits, locally known as nipa, is a traditional source of income for rural communities in Cabo Delgado, particularly among the members of Makonde ethnic group.
The jihadist insurgents consider the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks haram (forbidden in Islam) and punish these practices with death by beheading.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility through its propaganda channels for killing 13 people over the past week in Muidumbe and Mueda districts. As usual, the group described the victims as Christians. In several posts, IS claimed to have killed seven Christians in Saba Saba village, in Muidumbe district, and three other people in Matambalale village, also in Muidumbe. According to the IS posts, the other four people were killed by insurgents in villages in Mueda district, including Namaua.
MOZTIMES was unable to independently verify these reports, having confirmed only the killing of the five people mentioned above. However, a page called Makone Mídia, which regularly publishes information about Cabo Delgado, reports that insurgents have killed 21 people on farms in Muidumbe and Mueda in recent days.
Local communities describe the presence of the Defence and Security Forces in the low-lying areas of Muidumbe and Mueda as very limited or almost non-existent, allowing insurgents greater freedom of movement. Despite the risk of attacks, people continue to travel to these areas in search of food.
Around two weeks ago, insurgents killed two men and abducted other people in Muidumbe district. The two victims were tending their vegetable plots in the low-lying areas of Miteda on the morning of Wednesday, 21 October.
During the incident, the insurgents abducted the women accompanying the victims. They were held captive and later released after a ransom of 25,000 meticais was paid, local sources told MOZTIMES.
On the same day, insurgents entered the farming area known as Saba Saba, where they also abducted several people who were on their farms.
In September, insurgents carried out several attacks in Muidumbe district. Residents have expressed concern over the absence of the Defence and Security Forces, accusing government forces of being concentrated in Palma and Mocímboa da Praia districts to protect natural gas projects. (MT)
