MOZAMBIQUE: Renamo gunmen attack train in central Mozambique: state news agency

Gunmen from rebel group Renamo attacked a train in central Mozambique on its way to a coal mine, injuring the driver's assistant, the southern African nation's state news agency reported on Tuesday.

The train of 42 wagons was empty as it traveled to the mine operated by Brazil's Vale SA at Moatize in the northern Tete province, when gunmen fired on the lead locomotive, shattering its windscreen.

Renamo, which is also the official opposition in Mozambique, never completely disarmed after a civil war with the governing Frelimo party and launched a low-level guerrilla campaign in late 2012.

Vale, which owns the train according to the news agency, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 2,000 Mozambicans fled to neighboring Malawi in January as fighting flared up between government forces and rebels in the Tete province.

This is the first time since Renamo stepped up hostilities this year that a train has come under attack, the state news agency reported, adding that previous ambushes have been against traffic on the main roads.

Reuters