According to the provincial police spokesperson, Zacarias Nacute, speaking at a press conference in Nampula city, the gunmen opened fire on a locomotive at about 01.00 in the Mutuali area, in Malema district.
The locomotive belonged to the Nacala Integrated Logistics Corridor (CLN), and was travelling to Nacala-a-Velha, where there is a new mineral port devoted to coal exports. CLN is the company that operates the railway from the Moatize coal basin in Tete province, across southern Malawi, to Nampula and on to Nacala.
“The Renamo men fired three shots against the locomotiveâ€, said Nacute. “They did not harm anyone or cause any material damageâ€.
The police dispatched a team to the area as soon as it received news of the attack, and concluded that the shots were fired by Renamo. The police are on the spot, Nacute continued, to guarantee public order and safety.
On Monday a crowd attacked and burnt down a Renamo office in Muatalala, an outlying suburb of Nampula city. Supposedly the attackers were tired of the lack of security caused by the activities of the Renamo militia, and opted to take revenge against the civilian wing of Renamo. Nacute said the police are trying to identify the ringleaders in the attack on the Renamo office.
The instability caused by Renamo raids is leading to serious disruption in some Nampula schools. The Nampula provincial government has recognized that there may be pupils who are unable to sit the end-of-year exams because of the military tensions. 12 schools are affected, in Rapale, Murrupula and Mogovolas districts.
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