Mozambique: Cabo Delgado sees 18 dead in rebel attacks, military operations – Lusa

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Mozambique: Cabo Delgado sees 18 dead in rebel attacks, military operations – Lusa

6:10 CAT | 23 Feb 2022

FILE PHOTO - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Unknown armed groups have killed 11 people during attacks on five remote villages since Friday in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, local sources told Lusa on Tuesday.

At the same time, military forces announced they had shot down seven rebels at another point, in Palma.

In both cases, the incidents are located in the far north of the province, near the border with Tanzania.

The attacks on the five villages are attributed by residents to insurgent groups that have been plaguing Cabo Delgado since 2017.

In this case, the incursions were directed against the villages of Chikwaia velha, Chikwaia Kankhomba, Janguane, Muia, Mungano in the district of Nangade where looting and destruction of property took place.

The death toll could be above 11, according to the same sources. The attacks also destroyed a fishermen’s camp by a river.

Following these attacks, since Friday there has been an exodus of people to the village of Nangade, district headquarters, in search of security.

“Here in the village everything is full of people, while others are moving on to Mueda or Pemba,” one of the sources added.

Nangade district lies between two distinct parts of Cabo Delgado: on the east it borders Palma and Mocímboa da Praia, the scene of the main clashes, and on the west side Mueda, which has served as a refuge for thousands of displaced people.

As the offensive supported by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) progresses, it is suspected that the rebels are also fleeing to neighbouring districts and provinces, giving rise to occasional attacks on villages.

On Monday, an information portal that monitors the Mozambican defence forces reported the killing of seven insurgents in Palma district, in an operation in which 16 hideouts in the bush and a rebel communications base were discovered.

Following the operations, control of the administrative post of Pundanhar, halfway between Palma and Nangade, was announced.

The province of Cabo Delgado is rich in natural gas, but, terrorised since 2017 by armed rebels with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 859,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.

Source: Lusa