MAPUTO – One of Africa's largest coal mining conglomorates, Rio Tinto, is in the process of evacuating the families of its foreign employees, because of the current situation in the country. This is according to its spokesman,Mr Bruce Tobin.
He said Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique could confirm that it was making arrangements for the dependent families of its foreign employees to return to their home countries temporarily.
“The safety of employees and their families is the number-one priority and the business will continue to monitor the situation and respond appropriately.” Rio Tinto has vast coal concessions in the north-west of the country.
He did confirm that the reason was the current clashes between the government and Renamo as well as the spate of kidnappings of wealthy people in the country. Tobin assured Lowvelder that Rio Tinto's operations would continue as planned, including the shipment of coal.
In the most recent attack between government and rebels, Renamo gunmen attacked a truck on Sunday morning at the bridge over the Pungwe River, 15 kilometres from Gorongosa in the central province of Sofala.
According to a report by the independent television station, STV, the driver was injured because he lost control of the vehicle, which overturned. No other injuries were reported.
Further south in Sofala, more Renamo attacks were reported on convoys on the main road south, between the Save River and the small town of Muxungue on both Thursday and Friday.
Despite the military escort accompanying them, cars were hit on both occasions, and three people were killed.
In the Sofala provincial capital, Beira City, army and police units raided the Renamo provincial office on Friday morning, and a house belonging to Renamo leader,Mr Afonso Dhlakama. The raid came as a surprise, since Beira has been entirely peaceful.
The head of operations in the Sofala provincial police command, Mr Guilherme Chauque, told the press that it was in compliance with a court order, but he declined to reveal the details of the order.
Chauque said in the Renamo office six people were detained and their mobile phones seized. They were all later released, without being charged.
This was as the country's president insisted that there would not be another civil war. Agence France-Presse reported that the president, Mr Armando Guebuza said the country was not in a situation of instability.
This was said after Renamo annulled the peace accord of 1992 which ended the country's 16-year war. The Mozambican army staged an attack against the rebel group and had taken over two of its military bases. The first one was near the Gorongosa Mountains in central Mozambique last Monday.
Presidential spokesman, Mr Edson Macuacua had revealed that a second military base was raided this week in Maringue. “There was an exchange of fire but no loss of human life,” he said.
Dhlakama survived the first attack, but his right-hand man, a lawmaker, was killed, the group claimed. Since that one, there have been sporadic outbreaks of violence in the north, which the government claims are reprisal attacks by Renamo. But Guebuza said the clashes were restricted to one area and were short term.
“I don't think there is a problem in the medium and long term and we are doing our best to stop it as soon as possible,” he said, speaking in the central-western town, Chimoio.
“The incidents are localised, and we know where they are is taking place.” Guebuza personally blamed his old civil-war rival Dhlakama for the simmering conflict that had rocked the centre of the country.
“Apparently he sees himself as a loser and uses whatever remains of his forces to try to prove that he can impose on the government his own decisions,” he said.
Agri-Samoz president, Mr Lester Mouten said the conflict between government had not affected any of its farming members countrywide. “These incidents have also not affected any areas where tourist lodges are based. The majority of tourist destinations are further south.”
Last week the UN secretary general Mr Ban Ki-Moon announced in a press release that he was concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the country.
