Mozambique: Scene of ‘great destruction’ in Cabo Delgado town attacked over weekend

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Scene of ‘great destruction’ in Cabo Delgado town attacked over weekend

3:10 CAT | 30 Jun 2020

Some residents fled in boats on Saturday. [File photo: Pinnacle News]

The town of Mocímboa da Praia, northern Mozambique, is now back under government control after clashes with armed attackers over the weekend, but presents a scenario of “great destruction”, several sources told Lusa today.

A hotel manager with interests in Mocimboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado province, told Lusa that the town is without electricity, water and telecommunications, following clashes between Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and the armed attackers.

“The situation is serious, there is a lot of destruction and it is difficult to know what has not been affected,” he said.

The majority of the population remains in refuge outside of the town and many people are missing. It is feared that several may have died during the clashes.

Military sources told Lusa that the FDS controls the village, but that there are still attackers nearby.

“We think there are malefactors mixed up with families outside the town and that is why the search and persecution [operations] continue,” a military said.

Clashes between the FDS and the armed groups broke out early on Saturday, causing the population to flee.

Mocímboa da Praia had already been invaded and occupied for a day by rebels on March 23, in an action later claimed by the Islamic State ‘jihadist’ group.

The weekend’s clashes are the biggest reported in Cabo Delgado since the occupation by insurgents of the town of Macomia between 28 and 30 May, and the consequent confrontation with the FDS.

Mocímboa da Praia is one of the main towns in the province, located 70 kilometres south of the natural gas project construction sites.

The armed violence over the past two-and-a-half years has already claimed the lives of at least 700 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis affecting about 211,000 residents.

In early June, the United Nations launched a US$35 million (€30 million) appeal to the international community for a Rapid Response Plan for Cabo Delgado, to be implemented from May to December.

Source: Lusa