Amnesty International Southern Africa says the recent attacks and brutal killing of civilians by an extremist group, Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jama in the northern province of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado bordering Tanzania, is a well-calculated move.
Media Manager at Amnesty International, Robert Shivambu says this after the attacks intensified and the group burnt houses and killing at least 37 people since October last year.
So far, thousands of villagers are reported to have fled their homes to the capital city Pemba, fearing for their lives.
Shivambu further says the poor security set up in that part of the country has given the extremists an upper hand.
“The gruesome way in which the killings are carried out shows this groups intent to sow fear amongst civilians. The Mozambican authority must take immediate and effective action to end the killings by responding security measures to protect the lives of villagers in the region and carrying an investigation into all the recent attacks with the aim of being arises of bringing suspected perpetrators to account in a fair trial.”
Anadarko staff under lock-down
U.S. petroleum company Anadarko has placed staff working on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in northern Mozambique under “lock-down” due to the threat from suspected Islamist militants in the area, a regional security consultant said on Tuesday.
Anadarko, which is looking to raise a record $14-$15 billion for the plant, said last week it was monitoring the situation after a spate of beheadings and kidnappings but declined to comment on specific security issues.
The consultant, who is familiar with the security situation, said the firm had prevented its workers from going beyond the perimeter of the planned plant on the coast of Cabo Delgado province, abutting the border with Tanzania.
“They can’t leave the site,” the consultant said.
Besides Anadarko, Italian energy giant Eni is piling into northern Mozambique to develop gas fields in the offshore Rovuma Basin, believed to hold 85 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – enough to supply Germnay, Britain, France and Italy for nearly two decades.
The first attacks by suspected Islamist militants came in October, when locals reported gangs armed with machetes attacking police stations, torching villages and executing religious leaders.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday at least 39 people had been killed and more than 1,000 displaced since May. The United States and Britain have advised their citizens to steer clear of the area.
Security consultants and domestic media have described the attackers as members of Al-Sunna wa Jama’a, an unknown Islamist group. Locals have also referred to the attackers as “Al-Shabab”, although there are no known links to the Somali group of the same name.
People in Cabo Delgado told HRW attackers had burned a mosque and beheaded an Islamic leader in a June 5 attack in which hundreds of homes were torched and scores of cattle slaughtered. Additional reporting by Reuters
