The Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) activated a military escort of vehicles on EN1, Mozambique's main highway, on the stretch between Metuge and Ancuabe, after an insurgent attack that left four dead in a nearby village on Saturday, 11, several witnesses told VOA on Sunday (12)..

"Tanks equipped with high-caliber weapons" began the convoy, early in the morning, said one of the witnesses, who requested anonymity.

A passenger of the Nagi carrier, who also prefers to omit his name, said that "all the buses that left early in the morning were escorted" by vehicles and heavily armed men, "in an agitated atmosphere."

The columns of vehicles are reported to be on the stretch of about 70 kilometers, between Mwepane to the Metuge junction, 20 kilometers from Cabo Delgado's capital, Pemba.

Long lines of vehicles formed at both ends of the stretch.

Another resident, told that in addition to the military escort, the vehicles and passengers passed through two check and search points on the mentioned sections, suggesting that the situation "was very clear that the danger was imminent against Pemba," the capital of Cabo Delgado.

"People were desperate. Even in the convoy, you could still see many people fleeing on foot and with bundles on their heads, on the roadsides," from Ancuabe to Pemba, witness Naiza Augusto told VOA.

A video circulating on social networks, which the author claims to have recorded this Sunday (12) shows a line of cars in profile waiting for the military escort 20 kilometers from Pemba.

Beheadings

A military source, who asked not to be named, told VOA that traffic had been reopened unconditionally early Sunday evening after all security guarantees were put in place.

Police in Pemba referred details about the military escort to the usual briefing on Monday.

The military escort was activated following the beheading, Saturday (10), of four people in the agricultural fields of the village Ntutupue, which is located next to the EN1, which "provoked the agitation of the population".

Hundreds of local residents began to leave the village, which is about 50 kilometers from Pemba, as early as Saturday night, fleeing the attack.

One survivor, who arrived this morning at the Metuge health center for treatment after suffering severe mistreatment, recounted that the insurgent group had beheaded the four people in front of him before they let him go.