Three people were killed in a new terrorist attack near Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado

At least three people were killed in a terrorist attack in the Mocimboa da Praia area in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, near the city’s headquarters, a municipal council spokesman told Lusa this Saturday.

According to Vicente Alphandega, this new attack occurred on Friday, around 19:00 local time (17:00 Lisbon time), in the community of Chimbanga, less than 50 kilometers from the district headquarters, the city of Mocimboa da Praia, in during which at least three people were killed and several houses were destroyed.

In addition to this attack, another group of terrorists in canoes arrived on Tembuze Island, also in Cabo Delgado, on Thursday, terrorizing fishermen and looting commercial produce and other goods from the population.

“They didn’t kill there, they just robbed goods, food, drinks. Everything that was commercial, so that someone would seek life or return,” complained a representative of the municipal council.

The attacks on Mocímboa da Praia and other parts of Cabo Delgado come at a time when the population is engaged in food production and the attacks threaten these activities.

“This is a guarantee, worse than the fact that it is raining, we had a guarantee that by next year we will emerge from the dependent part, now that there is a situation of concern, it is happening backwards,” concluded Vicente Alphandega.

Armed groups that had been terrorizing Cabo Delgado province returned on Wednesday to attack the Mocimboa da Praia area in the community of Ntotwe, just a few kilometers from Awasse, where one of the positions of Rwandan forces supporting Mozambique in the battle against rebel groups in Cabo is located -Delgado.

According to sources on the ground, the death toll from the attack has not yet been established.

“They invaded the shops, took food and other goods from the population and disappeared. So far I have no information about the dead,” a local resident who took refuge in the Awasse administrative post told Lusa.

A new rebel incursion into Mocimboa da Praia forced the residents of Ntotwe to flee to the administrative post of Awasse, although it merited an immediate response from Mozambican and Rwandan forces in the region.

The town of Ntotwe, located just over 100 kilometers from the headquarters of Mocimboa da Praia, is located along the national road number 380, one of the few paved roads in the region, which connects with the northernmost areas of Cabo Delgado, where gas is being developed Rovuma project. .

The area of ​​Mocimboa da Praia in northern Cabo Delgado became the first target of terrorists on October 5, 2017, after which rebels attacked other parts of the province.

In total, about 62 thousand people, almost the entire population, have fled the coastal village due to the conflict that began six years ago, with a focus on mass escapes that occurred after the intensification of rebel activities in June 2020.

After several months in the “hands” of the rebels, Mocímboa da Praia was sacked and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as power, water, communications and hospitals.

Cabo Delgado province has been in the grip of an armed insurgency for more than six years, with extremist group Islamic State claiming responsibility for some attacks, leading to a military response since July 2021 backed by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). ), freeing up areas near gas projects.

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and nearly 4,000 people have died, according to the ACLED Conflict Recording Project.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi asked on November 22 for “decisions” to be made on the response capabilities of the armed forces in Cabo Delgado, especially with reservists, taking into account the planned withdrawal of foreign forces providing support on the ground in the fight against terrorist groups, scheduled for July.