A dozen Mozambicans have been arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo while allegedly undergoing training to unleash terror in parts of Mozambique, the police announced on Tuesday.
Mozambique police chief Bernardino Rafael said the 12 suspected Islamist militants were recruited into the terror group under the pretext that they were being taken for Islam studies in the DRC.
He however did not say when the Mozambicans were arrested.
According to the police chief, Mozambican authorities are negotiating with their Congolese counterparts to have the suspects extradited to the south-eastern African country for trial.
“We would like them to come back to Mozambique to explain to us who recruited them. But the Congolese government also wants to know how the young Mozambicans entered their country,” Rafael said.
The suspects are believed to be from Quiterejo or Montepuez in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province as well as from Moma and Memba in Nampula region.
CM/jn/APA