The previous day Renamo had attacked and occupied a police post in Chiramba, in what may have been an attempt to overrun the entire area.
The Sofala provincial police commander, Alfredo Mussa, said the operation to drive Renamo out began at 02.30 on Tuesday morning. The police believed that a swift operation in the middle of the night would be less likely to cause panic in the nearby communities.
Mussa said that the operation achieved its goal, with the retaking of the police post without shedding blood on either side.
He said Renamo had broken into medical stores in the local health unit, and had stolen all the medicines they found there.
During the Renamo attack, much of the population of Chiramba had fled to safer areas, notably to islands in the Zambezi river. Mussa appealed to them to return home, and to denounce any suspicious movements to the authorities.
Chiramba is in Chemba district, and the district administrator, Joao Patricio, said the government is trying to reopen all the public and private institutions that closed down because of the Renamo attack. There are only 18 state employees in Chiramba (including teachers and nurses), and many of them fled to Beira after the Renamo attack.
Post published in: Africa News