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MOZAMBIQUE-ACCIDENT
Mozambique shipwreck kills 13
MAPUTO, June 6, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – At least 13 people died after a
sailboat sank in bad weather off the coast of Cabo Delgado province,
northern Mozambique, local police said on Saturday.
Carrying 50 people, the ship left the coastal town of Memba at
night heading for Mocimboa da Praia, more than 200 km further north,
when it was caught up in heavy weather and hit rocks, police spokesman
Augusto Gusta told AFP.
“We are currently recovering the bodies of 13 victims as well as 35
survivors, who are being held by the police for further
investigation,” Gusta said.
The shipwreck occurred south of Pemba, the capital of the province
of Cabo Delgado, where militants have been waging a jihadist
insurgency for the last two and a half years.
Mozambican police suspect Islamist groups of recruiting combatants
in the border regions of Cabo Delgado, and using road and sea vessels
to transport them to carry out operations.
“Our investigation into the motives for this trip during the night,
without notifying the maritime authorities, is still under way,” the
spokesman said.
Jihadist attacks, often claimed over the past few months by the
Islamic State (IS) group, have left at least 1,100 dead, including
civilians, police and military, according to the NGO Armed Conflict
Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), which tracks and reports on
conflict data.
The UN estimates more than 200,000 people in the province have been
displaced by the insurgency.
BS/AFP/MRU/1945hrs