Maputo — The administration of Quissanga district, one of the areas in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado worst hit by jihadist terrorism, is now operating out of the relatively safe district of Metuge, according to a report carried by the independent television station, STV.
The Quissanga district administrator, Bartolomeu Muibo, told STV that, due to the security situation in Quissanga, all the district’s state and government institutions are operating temporarily out of Metuge.
Since it is currently impossible to work in Quissanga, the District Secretariat, and the District Health and Economic Activities Services have all been transferred to Metuge. About 20,000 displaced people, fleeing from Quissanga, have also made their way to Metuge.
The main terrorist attack on Quissanga town came on 25 March. The district government building was destroyed, and the bandits occupied the district administrator’s office.
Muibo said that the terrorists had destroyed all state archives and records in the district. “We are trying to recover the records from the information that exists in the provincial government”, he added.
Two other district capitals – Mocimboa da Praia and Macomia – are in ruins. The mayor of Mocimboa da Praia, Carlos Momba, told STV that, although the town is back under the control of the government’s defence and security forces, no government services are operational.
The terrorist attacks have deprived these districts of health services in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is currently impossible to know how many people in Quissanga, Mocimboa da Praia and Macomia are infected with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique