Mozambique: At least three deaths in rebel attack on Awasse – Lusa

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Mozambique: At least three deaths in rebel attack on Awasse – Lusa

8:25 CAT | 24 Oct 2024

Image: Google Earth

At least three people died in Wednesday’s terrorist attack in the town of Awasse, in Mocimboa da Praia, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, local sources told Lusa on Thursday.

“The bandits killed three people, all civilians. It is a situation that has left us sad because we were already used to the calm,” said a source close to one of the victims from Mocímboa da Praia.

The attack on Awasse took place at around 8:00 pm on Wednesday (23), with an armed group shooting indiscriminately at locals near the town.

“There was panic, there was no sleep in the town,” the source said, adding that the Defence and Security Forces were called in to intervene to repel the rebel invasion. “There was a prompt response from the Awasse force,” added the same source.

Located along national highway 380, the N380, Awasse is at the junction between the districts of Mueda and Mocímboa da Praia, less than 50 kilometres from Mocímboa district headquarters.

Wednesday’s attack has once again caused panic among the people, especially farmers who are preparing their land for the upcoming rainy season.

Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.

The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May, in the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents looting the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces and Rwandan military, which is supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.

Source: Lusa