NO BASIS FOR CLAIM THAT AL-SHABAAB

The scare story that three men arrested last month in the northern Mozambican city of Pemba are members of the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab, seems to have no basis in fact.At his weekly Maputo press briefing, the spokesperson for the General Command of the Mozambican police, Inacio Dina, said “These three individuals are Muslims. But we cannot confirm any link between them and Al-Shabaab”.The story of the al-Shabaab link was broadcast, with virtually no details, by Radio Mozambique in June. The three were detained in the Mucojo administrative post of Macomia district, Cabo Delgado province.Dina said the three individuals are Mozambicans (so not Somalis). They were detained because they were inciting members of the public to disrespect the government authorities, and to pull their children out of schools. He said the three men, aged between 21 and 43, went from house to house urging people to disobey the authorities and to abandon schools.Asked if the three are still in detention, Dina said he had no information as to whether they were still being held or had been released. “Right now, I cannot tell you where they are”, he said.