Suspected jihadists have attacked military barracks and surrounded a northern Mozambican town, hoisting their flag close to a major gas exploration site being developed by
A pre-dawn attack in
The group raided the local police station and set prisoners free. It also burned houses and destroyed a school. Dozens of people fled to the local hospital and mosques. The insurgents built barricades on the main roads leading to the town. They controlled the municipality's airbase, the port and the police stations for most of the day. Military sources accused them of taking weapons and vehicles.
Dozens of people were wounded during Monday's attack, said General Commander
However, Rafael claimed that police officers fought "with the evildoers in the town" and advised locals "to keep calm and be vigilant, because the insurgents may want to mix with the population and do harm."
Things get complicated
Mocimboa da
The town was until recently the main airport for workers travelling to the site, before a landing strip was built at Afungi. The peninsula's port is also used for cargo deliveries for the projects.
The district central area was first occupied by the jihadist insurgents in
"With each day that passes, things get more and more complicated," Chiure told DW. "
The culmination of a tragic failure
Alexandre Chiure underscored President
Little is known about the group, which has killed more than 300 people and caused hundreds of thousands to flee their villages in
'Untold human suffering'
The escalation of violence in Mocimboa da
An Amnesty press statement highlighted the three years of "untold human suffering."
Mwananyanda said that the ongoing attacks were aggravated by the government's "ban on journalists, researchers and foreign observers from accessing the area to assess the situation." Amnesty called for immediate and effective measures to protect the people, the strengthening of legal security measures and the carrying out of investigations to bring the suspects to justice.
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