Mozambique: Three civic education agents murdered by Naparamas - AIM report
Macomia on the aftermath of the attack. [Photo courtesy: Pinnacle News]
The governor of Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, has said that the town of Macomia is once again under the control of the Defence and Security Forces (FDS), after attacks by armed rebels since Thursday.
In a statement on Sunday to journalists in Pemba, the provincial capital, Valige Tauabo announced the restoration of calm with the return of families to their homes after a general evacuation.
The governor said that a survey of the destruction is underway, it is not known that there are deaths among civilians, but insurgent leaders have been shot by the FDS, he added, in line with what was announced on Saturday by the president, Filipe Nyusi, about the possible death of leaders.
Tauabo said residents who are returning first to Macomia and surrounding villages are looting the homes of neighbours, calling for order.
The extent of damage from the recent attack in Macomia is distressing. The insurgents looted several stores and burned down public and private service buildings. pic.twitter.com/pDjL5LJ68A
— Pinnacle News (@news_pinnacle) June 1, 2020
Armed groups classified as terrorists and affiliated to the jihadist Islamic state movement attacked Macomia, the main village in the centre of the province since Thursday.
It is the best-known meeting point in the middle of the paved road linking the north and south of the province, with a bank, various services, stores, and the headquarters of a district with about 100,000 inhabitants.
The incursion took place after an intensification of violence since March and led to the occupation of other villages such as Mocímboa da Praia, Quissanga and Muidumbe, with reports of dozens of deaths among civilians, insurgents, and the army.
Cabo Delgado, the province where the largest private investment in Africa for natural gas exploration is under attack since October 2017, by insurgents classified since the beginning of the year by Mozambican and international authorities as a terrorist threat.
For a year now, the jihadist Islamic State group has been claiming some of the incursions.
In two and a half years of conflict, it is estimated that at least 550 people have died and about 200,000 have been affected, being forced to take refuge in safer places, losing their homes, gardens, and other property.
Mozambique
Video shows the aftermath of the attack at Macomia on 28 May https://t.co/JXM1LFyuLK— Jasmine Opperman (@Jasminechic00) May 31, 2020
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