Mozambique: Attacks in Memba district destroyed 370 houses – Nampula governor

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Mozambique: Attacks in Memba district destroyed 370 houses – Nampula governor

4:03 CAT | 20 Oct 2025

Photo: Conselho Executivo Provincial de Nampula - CEP - Nampula

Mozambican authorities have counted 370 homes destroyed in the terrorist attacks in Nampula earlier this month. At least one person was left dead, while many of the insurgents were injured, Nampula governor Eduardo Abdula said today.

“They burned down about 370 houses, approximately 370 houses. That’s the number I’ve kept, around 370. And today we’re loading goods, we’re removing the belongings. I’ll see if we can, today, gather at least one truck for the displaced people in Chipene and Lúrio,” the governor told reporters after a several-day visit to the villages attacked in Memba district, northern Mozambique.

Local authorities initially estimated that 45 houses had been destroyed in the October 1 attacks in Memba, a number that later rose to 51, along with confirmation of a young woman’s throat being slit by the rebels.

Eduardo Abdula said that the swift response of the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) repelled the attack, causing “many injuries” among the insurgents, who reportedly returned to their places of origin in Cabo Delgado.

“Security isn’t bad, but it’s not good either. We must always be on alert. It’s important, I ask again, as I asked in Memba, that communities be vigilant and report,” said the governor of Nampula province.

Abdula also acknowledged the need to invest in equipment for the FDS, particularly in Memba, a district neighbouring Cabo Delgado province, which has been the scene of the terrorist groups’ operations for eight years.

“I’m sending a police vehicle in the next few days. The district currently doesn’t have such a vehicle, so I’m sending a new vehicle from my personal escort, which will reinforce the district police station so our colleagues can have easier mobility,” Governor Abdula concluded.

READ: Mozambique: “Don’t fall for the schemes of these terrorists,” Nampula governor warns Memba youth

Nearly 93,000 people have fled Cabo Delgado and Nampula since late September due to the resurgence of terrorist attacks in northern Mozambique, doubling the number of displaced people in just a few days, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

On October 6, President Daniel Chapo described the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado as “barbaric acts”, against “human dignity.”

The gas-rich northern province of Mozambique has been the target of terrorist attacks for eight years, with the first attack recorded on October 5, 2017, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data organisation (ACLED) reports 6,257 deaths after eight years of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, warning of ongoing instability and a resurgence of violence.

Source: Lusa