Zinkwazi mom awaits repatriation of son’s body after Isis-linked militia open fire at Mozambique hotel

Zinkwazi resident Greg Knox escaped Islamic militants carrying the body of his murdered step-son Adrian Nel from Amarula Palma hotel in northern Mozambique last week.

He is now waiting for the body to be repatriated before returning home.

His wife Meryl is at home in Zinkwazi, waiting anxiously for the safe return of her husband and her second son, Wesley.

About 200 expatriates and contract workers including Meryl’s husband and two sons Adrian (40) and Wesley Nel (37), took refuge inside the hotel after the town – the hub of a multi-billion rand gas project – came under siege by armed jihadist insurgents last Wednesday afternoon.

According to several reports the fleeing civilians, include foreign workers from numerous countries, were ambushed at the gates of the hotel as they tried to escape in a multi vehicle convoy after waiting 2 days to be evacuated.

ORIGINAL STORY: North Coast mother loses son in insurgent attack in Mozambique

Adrian was in the convoy with his step-father and younger brother when he was gunned down and killed by Al-Shabab, a militia linked to Isis.

Others were killed when the insurgents finally overran the hotel.

Her husband and youngest son were not wounded in the attack and managed to escape and hide in the veld with Greg carrying Adrian’s body with them.

They were rescued on Saturday morning.

Meryl said the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had been in contact with her to bring his body home. Her younger son is expected back this week.

Described by his mother as a ‘joyful person who brought love and kindness to anyone and everybody he met’, Adrian who would have celebrated his 41st birthday on April 1, leaves behind his wife and 3 children – a 10-year-old boy, and 2 girls aged 6 and 2.

A commercial diver by trade, he lost his job as a result of the global pandemic and had been in Mozambique since January 8 where he was working as a contractor to build workers’ accommodation camps in Palma.

His younger brother and father were also involved in the project.

The bereft mother criticised Mozambican authorities for not doing enough to help the trapped civilians and said the Mozambican army were in the area to protect a gas plant and had not requested outside help, either from their neighbours or the international community.

“My son should not have died. There should have been more help.”

Meryl said that if it was not for the efforts of a private South African security company operating in the area the casualties would have been far higher.

“Thank goodness for them otherwise we would not have anybody left there.”

Local authorities have yet to release official details on the exact number of people injured and killed in the four-day assault on Palma.

The Southern Africa director of international group Human Rights Watch, Dewa Mavhinga said: “Al-Shabab fired on civilians in their homes and on the streets in Palma, as they tried to flee for their lives.”
According to humanitarian aid agencies since October 2017, extremist fighters have raided villages and towns in the region, forcing nearly 700 000 to flee their homes.

The town – in the northern province of Cabo Delgado – is about 10km from a multi-billion dollar gas processing plant being built by French oil and gas giant, Total.