Advertisement

Updated March 29th, 2021 at 11:48 IST

Mozambique Defence Ministry update on rebel attack

Defence forces in Mozambique are battling to contain "criminal attacks and restore normality" in the northern town of Palma after five days of fighting between rebels and the army, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

Mozambique Defence Ministry update on rebel attack
| Image:self
Advertisement

Defence forces in Mozambique are battling to contain "criminal attacks and restore normality" in the northern town of Palma after five days of fighting between rebels and the army, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

Speaking in the capital Maputo, Colonel Omar Saranga said that the actions of a "group of terrorists" had resulted in the "cowardly assassination of dozens of defenceless people."

Reports from the region have detailed the killings of dozens of civilians and the littering of bodies on the streets of Palma.

Among these were seven people leaving a hotel in a convoy that was "ambushed by the terrorists," Saranga said.

He added that hundreds of people had been rescued by defence forces over the past three days.

The battle for Palma highlights the military and humanitarian crisis in this Southern African nation on the Indian Ocean.

The three-year insurgency of the rebels, who are primarily disaffected young Muslim men, in the northern Cabo Delgado province has taken more than 2,600 lives and displaced an estimated 670,000 people, according to the UN.

The attacks in Palma started on Wednesday just hours after the French energy company Total announced that it would resume work outside the town on its huge natural gas project at Afungi, near Mozambique’s northeastern border with Tanzania.

Earlier rebel attacks prompted Total in January to suspend work on the project to extract gas from offshore sites.

 

Advertisement

Published March 29th, 2021 at 11:48 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Shahjahan Sheikh in CBI Custody: First Visual Emerges | WATCH
3 minutes ago
Pushpa 2
7 minutes ago
Sawai Man Singh Stadium
10 minutes ago
iOS
12 minutes ago
Rajinikanth in Thalaivar 171 poster
12 minutes ago
Credit Card score
17 minutes ago
4 Illegal Migrants On Way To Assam From Delhi Arrested In UP
18 minutes ago
Mandi Lok Sabha seat Pratibha Singh
22 minutes ago
Platinum Industries IPO
23 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo