Cabo Delgado: Army says it has retaken Mocimboa da Praia – VOA

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Cabo Delgado: Army says it has retaken Mocimboa da Praia – VOA

12:09 CAT | 30 Jun 2020

The Mozambican army's Captain of Sea and War, FZ Charles, killed in Cabo Delgado

The Defence and Security Forces (FDS) of Mozambique, with the support of private South African military personnel from the Dyck Advisory Group (DAG), who led the counterattack against the insurgents, claim to have retaken the town of Mocimboa da Praia at nightfall on Sunday, June 28, almost two days after its reoccupation by insurgents, reads a VOA Portugues report.

VOA has learned that among the casualties on the government side was Captain of Sea and War FZ Charles, who died in combat in the early hours of Sunday, information confirmed at a meeting of Navy staff.

The group expelled the insurgents, who had occupied Mocimboa da Praia for the fourth time, after reaching a warehouse and a mosque in the centre of the town, from where the offensive against the district capital, which hosts an important port and airport, was being directed.

“It has been recovered after a close battle,” a military source from Pemba told VOA earlier this Monday, June 29th, adding that there were many casualties on the insurgent side.

In a video circulated on social media, a group of state soldiers had collected, in a green military tent with multiple bullet holes, the bodies of five alleged insurgents, all dressed in official Mozambican army uniforms.

Fights

In the same video, a Mozambican army officer identifies one of the alleged insurgents as a commander of the elite Special Operative Group (GOE) who had allegedly joined the insurgents, locally known as al-Shaabab or al Sunnah wa Jama’ah (ASWJ).

In another video, supposedly filmed on Sunday afternoon, an army commander orders a rigorous sweep of the area to prevent insurgents from recovering the wounded or the other bodies of those killed in the fight, and praises the force for the counterattack.

South African newspaper Daily Maverick writes that helicopters piloted by the DAG retaliated with fire several hours after the insurgents launched a multi-faceted offensive in the town of Mocimboa da Praia at about 4:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The delay in response was due to the dense morning fog in the theatre of operations.

Citing one of various sources contacted, the publication reported that two Gazelles and a Bell 407 helicopter had fired “directly at the built-up area of the city to flush out the insurgents”.

But accounts differ sharply on what exactly happened after this, the Daily Maverick writes.

One other source told Daily Maverick “there was a short, sharp shoot-out, air to ground, and no ground follow-up by Mozambique troops”.

“There had been heavy cloud cover, so the DAG pilots had taken a long time to get into action, but when they did they shot 12 insurgents, while one Mozambique soldier was shot dead and 13 wounded,” the Daily Maverick reports

This source said that the DAG had chased the insurgents out of the town on Saturday with almost no ground support from the Mozambican military, and that “there was a short and precise shooting in the air and on the ground”.

Another Daily Maverick source, however, said that Mozambican government security forces had launched a counter-offensive later on Saturday and that the fighting had continued late into the afternoon. This source said that the Mozambique military had been unable to dislodge the jihadists on Saturday. They were not certain whether the insurgents had later withdrawn from the town or remained there. The insurgents usually retreat, after occupying towns to demonstrate their military prowess.

One source cited by Daily Maverick said that, although no reliable reports were yet available on casualties, unconfirmed reports indicate that they had been high on both sides. According to some other reports gathered by the same South African publication, one of those who died was commander Horacio Arosio Charles, who had been in charge of the Afungi protection force, but had been transferred to take over the force protecting Mocimboa da Praia.

The cut in communications in the area occasioned by the attacks makes it difficult to form a more accurate balance of the damage caused.

The Aid to the Church in Need Foundation, which has distributed reports describing a worrying situation in Cabo Delgado, was concerned about the situation in Mocimboa da Praia, warning that “since the early hours of Saturday, heavily armed groups” had attacked the region, “causing panic and leading to the flight of residents”.

A local source told VOA that vessels continued to dock in Pemba form early on Monday morning, bringing dozens of people displaced by the insurgency in the north of Cabo Delgado.

Insurgents attacked Mocimboa da Praia on March 23, and occupied the district capital, where the attacks began in October 2017.

By André Baptista

Source: VOA Portugues / Daily Maverick