Militias in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique announced this Wednesday that they had killed five rebels during clashes that took place on Tuesday in the village of Nacala, 50 kilometers from Mueda district headquarters.
“We opened fire because they started burning houses,” said one member of the so-called “local forces,” two of whom were injured and one civilian.
The village is located between two others (Nanhala and Chude), which in 2022 housed displaced people fleeing rebel attacks.
Another source from the “local forces” said that the shooting continued until 07:00 on Wednesday (05:00 in Lisbon) and that the situation was already under the control of the militias.
The clashes have caused many people to flee since Tuesday towards Mueda, said a 43-year-old mother of five who decided to seek safety at the district headquarters.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for five years now, with the Islamic State extremist group claiming responsibility for some attacks.
The insurgency has led to military retaliation since July 2021, with the support of Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating areas near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in the neighboring province. from Nampula.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the conflict has already displaced one million people and killed about four thousand people, according to the ACLED Conflict Registration Project.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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