After everything that happened in Liupo, specifically at the Quinga administrative post, on December 20, 2024, a reinforcement of the FDS (Forças de Defesa e Segurança) was dispatched.
The authorities allowed five (5) vehicles to leave the district headquarters in Liupo for Quinga. Of the five, four (4) were FDS vehicles and one was an ambulance. Upon arrival, the health agents went to the pharmacy and took all the medications that were stored there. In fact, the pharmacy was not vandalized; only another part of the center was.
The ambulance vehicle returned with all the agents, in this case, the health professionals, leaving behind the defense and security forces. A few hours later, the vehicles from the rapid response unit and the military also left, leaving only the police for protection.
According to the group leaders, they were not supposed to stay, but rather, they were to assess the situation and then return. They had brought cooking pots and food to prepare lunch, which they did. After cooking and eating, they decided that they should return to the district headquarters.
After suggesting this to their leaders, in this case, the district operations chief and the head of the Quinga post, they were told to wait. However, by 5 PM, with no response from the leaders, the members of the force abandoned the post and decided to walk from the Quinga administrative post to the Liupo district town, covering a distance of 45 kilometers. They started walking at 5 PM and arrived the following day at 4 AM.
In total, 17 members decided to abandon and disobey the orders of their leaders, leaving only three: the two leaders and one driver. Seeing that they were alone, they also decided to leave Quinga.
In response, the district commander of the PRM (Mozambican Police Force) of Liupo supported the members' decision, as it was what had been agreed upon before leaving the headquarters for that location.
How is the situation?
After the hospital at the Quinga administrative post was vandalized by protesters/demonstrators, the population is suffering. Children are without healthcare, and there are fevers, malaria, flu, and other diseases taking hold.
According to some residents, in order to receive healthcare, they must travel to the neighboring district, specifically Namige in the Mogincual district, where it is difficult to get treated. They claim that the hospital was vandalized for no reason, and they are being sent away.
For now, the post is calm, and the population has resumed normal activities such as fishing, farming, and business. There is still no government leadership in the area.
Quinga is a place where people live through fishing. Those who were near the vandalized area are scared, and many of them sleep in the forests because they fear that the police agents will come to arrest them that night.
However, they acknowledge that they were influenced by rumors from ill-intentioned individuals. (BP facts about Quinga)
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