Mozambique attacks: Alleged ‘jihadist’ group displays photos and claims occupation of towns

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Mozambique attacks: Alleged ‘jihadist’ group displays photos and claims occupation of towns

2:04 CAT | 26 Mar 2020

Photos via CDD Moçambique

Four photographs released yesterday on the internet show individuals sporting the flag of the Islamic State (IS) ‘jihadist’ group in occupied buildings in Quissanga, the second town invaded in northern Mozambique in less than 48 hours.

IS also claimed the invasion of Mocímboa da Praia in a statement on Monday.

Yesterday’s photographs show a group of up to 16 people posing in military uniforms, firearms and with their faces covered at the district police command – with signs of being set on fire – and at the local administration building in Quissanga.

ALSO READ: Mozambique insurgents stage second major attack in three days

Some elements appear in different photos, some from the same location or taken from different angles.

One of the images was republished by the European Union ambassador to Mozambique, António Gaspar, in his Twitter account: “Dismayed by the escalation of violence in Cabo Delgado,” he commented, expressing “support in all the fronts to end this instability in the north of the country”.

In addition to the photos showing the flag in Quissanga, IS channels claim the attack and occupation of the district headquarters of Mocímboa da Praia for almost the whole of Monday.

“Caliphate soldiers attacked five positions of members of the Mozambican army and police in Mocímboa da Praia,” the jihadist group said in a statement, claiming dozens of deaths and injuries and displaying weapons allegedly seized.

The group managed to seize “weapons, ammunition and multiple vehicles, then safely return to their positions”, it concluded.

The Mozambican government on Tuesday confirmed the attack on Mocímboa da Praia.

The ministers of interior and defence visited and the population partially returned to the street to resume routine activity, while others swelled the numbers of those displaced and seeking safety elsewhere, Lusa heard.

There was no further information about victims or damage in Mocímboa da Praia, although residents reported finding bodies on the streets, as well as buildings that has been torched.

Mozambican authorities have yet to comment on the occupation of Quissanga, which yesterday led to the general flight of its population to safety on Ibo Island and Pemba, the provincial capital.

Quissanga administrator Bartolomeu Muibo told Lusa from Pemba that he didn’t know, due to difficulties communicating with the area, whether the village was still occupied by armed groups or whether residents had already returned.

Muibo was on the island of Ibo when the attack happened, and from there travelled directly to the provincial capital without knowing in any greater detail what had happened.

Other telephone contacts made by Lusa at the end of the afternoon proved to be unsuccessful.

Cabo Delgado province has been the target of attacks by armed groups that international organizations classify as a terrorist threat and that in two and a half years have already killed at least 350 people, in addition to 156,400 people affected by loss of property or forced to abandon home and land in search of safe locations.

#Breaking: insurgents in #CaboDelgado #Mozambique make a video statement (the second since 2017). Speaker says they want sharia rule and #ISIS #EI flag – not Frelimo flag pic.twitter.com/SliYY3mEdi

— Eric Morier-Genoud (@emorier) March 26, 2020