Moz: ‘There are so many beheaded bodies out there’

As Mozambican security forces wage a bitter urban war against Islamic insurgents, who have booby trapped scores of buildings and homes in Palma, harrowing stories of how South Africans escaped are beginning to emerge.

The town has been under attack since Wednesday from Ahlu Sunnah Waljama’a-Jamaa insurgents, who have reportedly killed hundreds of Mozambicans and foreigners who are involved in work related to a R900bn gas project run by French company Total on the nearby Afungi peninsula.

For the past six days civilian boats and South African helicopter pilots working for Dyck Advisory Group (DAG), which is contracted to the Mozambique police force to fight the rebels, have been rescuing people. At the same time, thousands of Mozambicans and expats have spent days and nights hiding from marauding rebels in dense tropical forests.

With signs emerging that the rebels are carrying out a tactical withdrawal, terrified survivors are slowly reaching safety and relaying horrifying stories of beheadings and executions.

At least one South African, 40-year-old Adrian Nel, has been killed, with more than 10 still reportedly missing. The South African government has reported that 43 are safe.

Among those who narrowly survived is Cape Town’s Brent September.

A project manager for SA facilities management company Remote Site Solutions (RSS), September, with more than 100 colleagues, was caught up in the attack.

Sunday Times Daily has learnt that when it began, RSS staff barricaded themselves inside their five compounds in Palma, about 10km from Afungi.

A security source said “they were told to remain where they were. That’s because they were told help was coming. Along with hundreds of expats from various companies who have staff living outside the Total base, they were told to wait for the Mozambican air force.

“The Mozambique air force was meant to send Mi24 attack helicopters along with their Mi17 helicopters, all of which have recently been donated to them. The helicopters came, but after less than an hour, they buggered off.”

The source said while DAG pilots had spent six days airlifting more than 300 Mozambicans and expats from compounds, flats and dense forests, the Mozambican air force had failed to assist.

“When those rebels opened fire with RPGs and heavy machine guns they turned tail and ran. That’s despite them being heavily armed themselves, with machine guns and rockets.”

Another security source said when the Mozambique air force did not assist those inside the compounds, fearing for their safety, with rebels threatening to overrun their hideouts, they tried to try make their way to the Total security zone.

“They were scared. Who wouldn’t be? The DAG pilots were doing everything they could. They were keeping the rebels from overrunning the compounds during the day, but at night there was not much they could do.

“The rebels knew this and just waited for the people to try flee at night. They hunted them down. There are so many beheaded bodies out there. Reports we are getting is that it’s a total massacre.”

At least seven people were killed and 40 injured and presumed captured when their 17-vehicle convoy was ambushed when they tried to flee from Amarula Palma Lodge.

Nel was among those killed.

September’s boss, Marcus Rathje, RSS operations head, said his colleague had been found alive in Afungi on Tuesday morning.

“He and a lot of our colleagues have been through hell. I can’t talk about it. It is all just too much. It’s been seven days of hell.”

He said physically September was OK, “but that he was battling emotionally”.

“They have been through a hell of an ordeal. Brent was not the only person.”

Asked how many staff had escaped and were alive, he said: “All I can say is we are still looking for our people. I cannot disclose whether we lost any colleagues. For all of us it has been a very tough time. We are all broken.”

Rathje said his colleagues had used various means to escape.

“I cannot elaborate. Brent was with colleagues. Some managed to get to safety. We are still looking for others. No-one should see what they saw. It’s now about getting all of them home.”

Like September, former police officer Nick Alexander and 21-year-old Francois van Niekerk managed to reach safety by hiding in dense bush.

TimesLIVE reported this week that Alexander, who was in the same convoy as Nel, shot dead two insurgents after breaking into a police car and taking an AK47 that had been left on a seat.

Van Niekerk met Nel and other expats after fleeing his home, which rebels were apparently threatening to overrun.

The two, with other foreigners, spent three days evading the rebels, until they were rescued by DAG pilots.

An SA intelligence source, who has been briefed on several of the escapes including that of some RSS staff, said people had spent nights crawling through dense bush evading the rebels. Though the distance to Afungi is short, it took about six days to reach safety.

“Lots of people were moving through dense bush trying to follow roads which led either to the beaches or to Afungi. The rebels knew this and waited for them.

“When they caught people they would drag them out into the roads and execute them. They would try to lure those in the bush out, promising not to execute their victims. Those who came out were killed. Those who didn’t watched those who were caught being beheaded or shot execution-style.

“We do not even know half the horror of what has happened. There are still quite a few South Africans who are missing.”

SA’s high commissioner to Mozambique, Siphiwe Nyanda, told Daily Maverick that 10 to 15 South Africans who were in the area at the time of the attacks were unaccounted for and had possibly been caught up in the violence.

He said about 200 South Africans had been living and working in the Palma-Afungi area and most were fine.