Mozambique: Insurgents on the move in district in Cabo Delgado - official
Photo: O País
On Monday afternoon, journalist António Tiua flew over the village of Palma, the scene, five days ago, of yet another terrorist attack. In the interview below, he talks about the situation there.
What do the authorities say about the situation in Palma?
The Defence and Security Forces say they are doing everything to ensure that the situation in the town of Palma is brought under control.
We [O País] were in Palma [district], specifically in Afungi.
The authorities say that the terrorists managed to dominate only half of the town, and that the Defence and Security Forces were present in most of the [Palma] district from the very start of the attack, and therefore managed to repel some of the terrorists.
According to information we obtained on the ground, there are still some outbreaks of attacks, because there is unconfirmed information that the terrorists will have reinforced themselves, but the authorities guarantee that the situation tends to be controlled.
Palma is almost deserted. A good part of the population fled to escape the attacks, some of whom we were able to interview as they waited to embark for Pemba [see video below].
Is there any estimate on how many people are yet to be rescued?
So far, there is no hard data.
In fact, at this point it is very difficult to know how many people are yet to be rescued.
What is certain is that there are hundreds of people who managed to reach the city of Pemba by sea and by air, as we have been able to document.
The information we have is that when the insurgents entered Palma, the population dispersed and this can be confirmed through the testimonies given to us by the survivors.
Many fled to the bush.
There are also reports that there are many people on the banks of the Rovuma River and that others have crossed into neighbouring Tanzania, fleeing these attacks.
Gradually, some are gaining access to the mobile phone network and, through this, are able to contact a family member, which ends up facilitating the location and evacuation; but it is difficult to talk about numbers at this point, because there is still fighting on the ground.
Is there any update on data on the injured and killed as a result of the attack?
Update as such, no. There are these data that were advanced yesterday, on the seven deaths and dozens more that will also have lost their lives and who may still be in Palma, but, at this point, there is no data; not least because the conditions in the operational theatre do not yet allow much movement on the part of the Defence and Security Forces so that they can make this accounting. It is data that can be known as soon as the situation is controlled.
During the invasion, was there a confrontation or was Palma unmanned?
The data that the Defence and Security Forces give, in terms of guarantee, is that there were positions in the district and that is why the situation in Palma was not similar to that of Mocímboa da Praia. There are soldiers on the ground, the village is not taken over as a whole. There is still fighting there.
The authorities say that only part of the village has insurgents and that a good part of the town is in the hands of the authorities and they are, at the moment, trying to recover this area that is still taken over by the terrorists.
The data show that the terrorists infiltrated the population as civilians, carried weapons in their luggage and ended up surprising the local population.
Are there any assessments of destroyed infrastructure?
There is still not much data to bring forward, it is a situation of operational theatre.
When we flew over, we observed some strict and rigorous security measures, because combat is still going on on the ground.
The situation still does not allow for a survey, because there is still sporadic shooting.
At this point in time, it is very complicated to have access to hard data, because, in a place where you are fighting, there is no freedom of movement to conduct a survey either on damaged infrastructure or on how many people have been affected and how.
By Esalinha Alfredo
Watch the STV report below:
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