Gunmen Attack Rwandan Forces, Kill Girl in Mozambique

Gunmen attacked Rwandan forces on Saturday during an ambush in the village of Mocimboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, killing a girl, local authorities said Sunday.

Mocimboa da Praia administrator Sergio Cipriano told public channel Televisão de Moçambique (TVM) on Sunday that “the girl was hit in the stomach and was unable to resist the injuries she sustained.”

“Yesterday [sábado]around 22:12. [21h12 em Lisboa] “A patrol of Rwandan forces was ambushed by terrorists and during the shootout the terrorists escaped,” Cipriano said.

Calling the attack on the “local government area” a “surprise” given that it is controlled by Rwandan forces and is considered more effective, the administrator of Mocimboa da Praia said that the country’s military has not yet commented on possible casualties inside and there is no information on possible militants killed or wounded in the confrontation.

“They haven’t told us anything yet,” said the administrator of Mocimboa da Praia.

Sergio Cipriano said people had reported that rebels had tried to attack a quarter of the Mozambican army in other incursions in the region on Saturday, but those attacks had not yet been confirmed.

“Some people are saying they felt gunshots, but we still don’t have any preliminary information,” Cipriano said.

The administrator of Mocimboa da Praia assured that the situation in the village is calm, adding that fishermen have returned to the sea, farmers are in the fields, and religious people have gone to Sunday services.

“We don’t feel it [os acontecimentos de sábado] could threaten the normal life of the population,” he said.

The town of Mocimboa da Praia was under the control of armed groups operating in Cabo Delgado for about a year after it was liberated by government forces from Rwanda and Mozambique in August 2021.

Since October 2017, an armed rebellion has erupted in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado, with movements linked to the Islamic State extremist group claiming responsibility for attacks.

The latest major attack took place on 10 and 11 May on the Macomia district headquarters, when about a hundred rebels looted the town, leading to several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces and the Rwandan military, who are also supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.

Since early August, various sources on the ground, including local forces, have reported intense clashes in the forests of the Mukoyo (Makomia) administrative post involving helicopters, armoured vehicles and heavily armed men, with gunfire reported in areas believed to be hideouts for these groups.