Mozambique: Insurgent attack village in Quissanga district – AIM report

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Mozambique: Insurgent attack village in Quissanga district – AIM report

4:19 CAT | 12 May 2020

File photo: AFP

Islamist insurgents on Saturday attacked the village of Tapara, in Quissanga district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, according to a report in Tuesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.

The terrorists burnt down around ten houses, and stole a motor-cycle, but there were no reports of any casualties.

The attack alerted nearby villages, and “Mediafax” reports that in at least one case, the village of Moja, the inhabitants took refuge against a possible raid by fleeing into the nearby bush.

The attack against Tapara was over in a few minutes, with no attempt by the terrorists to occupy it.

“Mediafax” suggests this may be because of the serious losses the insurgents have suffered in Quissanga at the hands of the defence and security forces. In February, the islamists had wrecked the village of Cagembe, and set up a military base nearby where they took girls kidnapped in other parts of the district.

The Mozambican defence forces have now occupied that base, and have asserted full control over Quissanga town itself which was attacked and occupied by the insurgents on 23 March.

Photos circulating on social media show Mozambican forces flying the flag of the Republic in front of the Quissanga District Police Command – exactly the same place where, in March, the insurgents had flown the black flag of the international terrorist group “Islamic State”.

The Cabo Delgado provincial government has been forced to set up accommodation centres for displaced people fleeing from Quissanga. There are five of these centres, all in Metuge district.

There are also reports of the defence and security forces shelling insurgent positions last week alongside the Messalo river and in the region of Mbau, in Mocimboa da Praia district.

Source: AIM