MOZAMBIQUE: Six people burned – Survivors accuse police

Six people died in Sofala province on Friday after being shot or burned to death in the vehicle they were travelling in. The incident took place in the village of Nago, Cheringoma district, about 250 km from the city of Beira.

Photo: Facebook

A survivor says the group set off from Marromeu heading towards Caia in a light vehicle when it was stopped by armed men, who took their documents and the car’s.

A Sofala police press conference yesterday confirmed the information and attributed the massacre to men loyal to Afonso Dhalakama. Daniel Macuácua, PRM spokesman for Sofala, said that an investigating team had already inspected the location, and noted that Renamo attacked a car belonging to the National Institute of Social Action two weeks ago in the same location.

However, the police claim is contradicted by two people who survived the incident. One was hit in the leg by a bullet and the other escaped unharmed. Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, they say it was the police and government troops who carried out the massacre, and that the gunmen forced them to line up next to the vehicle and shot them one by one.

The two survivors managed to free themselves and fled on foot through the woods. Of the eight victims, two were Bengalis; one was burnt to death and one survived. The others were Mozambicans.

“The PRM men forced us into a car and we travelled a long distance. We stopped at a certain point and they shot us one by one. I managed to escape and ran away but one shot hit me and I fell in the woods,” one of the survivors said.

“They led us into the bush and told the Mozambicans to line up, then shot the, one by one. But when they got to us (the two Bangladeshis), I managed to escape, and fled,” the other survivor has said.

O País / Club of Mozambique