Islamist attack leaves four civilians dead in Cabo Delgado
Fighters linked to the Islamic State group killed four civilians in an overnight attack on the town of Macomia in Mozambique’s restive Cabo Delgado province, local sources and a senior military officer said Monday.
The insurgents, who have staged repeated assaults in northern Mozambique since 2017, shot dead a local trader among the victims and abducted two young girls, according to a military officer who requested anonymity.
A resident told AFP that the attackers struck around 8 p.m., forcing people to flee into the bush. “They immediately killed four people and abducted four others, including a woman and her two daughters,” the witness said.
The government in Maputo has not commented on the incident, consistent with its usual silence on such attacks despite an intensified counter-insurgency effort supported. A large Rwandan military base is located near Macomia, part of Kigali’s deployment since 2021 to help Mozambican forces in Cabo Delgado.
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The violence has cast a long shadow over TotalEnergies $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Palma, suspended since March 2021 following a major attack that left more than 800 dead. The French energy giant has said reconstruction could resume in the coming months.
According to the conflict-monitoring group ACLED, at least 6,200 people have been killed in Cabo Delgado since the insurgency erupted.
On Friday, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) suspended medical operations in the coastal town of Mocimboa da Praia, citing the rise in attacks. Once a vital hub for fuel and supplies for companies near Palma, Mocimboa has suffered repeated insurgent raids.
The conflict, now in its eighth year, continues to displace communities and stall investment in one of Africa’s largest natural gas projects.
Source: AFP
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