– Officers were on a reconnaissance mission and were reportedly mistaken for insurgents
Pemba (MOZTIMES) – Two officers from the Mozambican Police (PRM), assigned to the Chiúre District Command and deployed on a reconnaissance mission, were tortured to death by Naparama militias on Tuesday morning in the village of Nivenevene, Chiúre district.
According to local sources, the two officers arrived in the village around 5 a.m. on a motorbike and were stopped by the militias. Despite identifying themselves as PRM officers on official duty, they were forcibly taken, locked inside a building, and subjected to torture until death. Their bodies were later burned.
The Naparamas accused the officers of being terrorists who had infiltrated the area to spy ahead of a possible attack.
The PRM District Command in Chiúre became aware of the incident and dispatched a team to recover the bodies. By late Tuesday afternoon, the remains had been placed in the morgue of the Chiúre District Hospital, awaiting funeral arrangements.
The security situation in Chiúre has continued to deteriorate since last Thursday’s attack, in which insurgents temporarily occupied the administrative post of Chiúre Velho and raised the Islamic State flag at the local police station. On Monday, the same group carried out further incursions in several villages across the district.
The response from the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) remains slow. However, it is known that a contingent composed of various FDS units is being mobilised from Maputo and may arrive in Chiúre later this week to restore order. (MT)
