Armed men attack in Ulumbi, Palma district – AIM report

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Armed men attack in Ulumbi, Palma district – AIM report

7:55 CAT | 25 Oct 2017

Photo: Facebook

Armed men, believed to be islamic extremists, on Sunday night attacked the region of Ulumbi in Palma district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

Anonymous sources cited in Tuesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax” said the attack began at about 23.00. Further details, including on any casualties, are not yet available.

This incident followed an earlier clash in Palma, reported by the Sunday paper “Domingo” in which 11 people were captured by local people and handed over to the police. They are believed to be part of the same group that staged an abortive islamist uprising in the neighbouring district of Mocimboa da Praia on 5 October.

The Palma district administrator, David Machimbuko, declared “the people of Palma showed maturity by blocking the incursion of some of the armed group who, for reasons yet unknown, attacked police units in Mocimboa da Praia”.

Like government officials in Maputo, Machimbuko pretended not to know that this is a group motivated by islamic fundamentalism. People in Mocimboa da Praia, however, have told reporters that the group wants to impose sharia law, ban the sale of alcohol, and prohibit both secular monuments and Christian crosses. They also urged their supporters not to send their children to state schools.

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The attack in Ulumbi is alarming because this area is just south of the Afungi Peninsula, where the American oil and gas company, Anadarko, has its main camp. Anadarko is the operator for offshore area one of the Rovuma Basin, where vast amounts of natural gas have been discovered.

Ulumbi itself is the site of an onshore oil and gas concession where the Canadian based company Wentworth Resources is drilling for hydrocarbons. Four wells have been drilled to date, and in July 2016 the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy approved Wentworth’s plan to appraise gas discoveries at the Tembo-1 well. This involves reprocessing 1,000 kilometres of existing seismic data, plans to acquire a minimum of 500 kilometres of new onshore 2D seismic data and drilling of an appraisal well.

Wentworth holds an 85 per cent share in the onshore area, and the other 15 per cent is hold by Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH).

Ulumbi is also an area of tourism interest. From here a boat takes tourists to Vamizi island, a luxury tourist resort in the Quirimbas archipelago.

Source: AIM