Mozambique: Police Officers Injured Following Clashes With Local Residents in Larde

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a report from Mozambique’s state news agency AIM, reported that at least four people were hurt on Wednesday during clashes between police and residents in Topuito, in Larde district of Nampula province. The report said the injured were members of Mozambique’s Police of the Republic of Mozambique, known as the PRM.

According to AIM, citing sources quoted by the independent outlet Carta de Moçambique, the confrontation began after officers stopped a truck carrying iron suspected of having been taken from facilities linked to Kenmare Resources, an Irish company that mines heavy mineral sands in the Moma and Larde districts. Residents reportedly gathered during the police operation and confronted the officers with stones, sticks and other items, leading to violence.

The report said one officer was seriously injured, with a source saying he was hit near the hip by an iron object or something similar. It also said two officers were helped out of the crowd by bystanders, and that the police did not respond violently. A witness cited in the article said the officers were disarmed of AKM rifles, which were later returned after local leaders intervened with the rioters.

AIM noted earlier tensions involving Kenmare’s operations in the area. In 2014, after elections, a crowd entered the company’s main camp in Larde district while demanding greater local benefits from mining activity. Residents at the time accused the company of failing to fulfil a promise to build a bridge linking Topuito, where the mine is located, with the Larde district capital.