An attack by jihadist insurgents last week forced government workers to flee their posts in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, according to media reports monitored here on Monday.
State-owned AIM news agency reported that the assault took place on February 20 in the Bilibiza administrative post, within Quissanga district, where insurgents targeted a military barracks of the Mozambican armed forces (FADM).
The attack triggered a wave of panic among state employees – including teachers, health workers and other public servants – who abandoned the area.
A health worker is quoted as having told the independent newspaper Carta de Moçambique that colleagues fled to the nearby locality of Muhate as soon as gunfire erupted.
“When the shooting began, they fled on Thursday to Muhate. The following day, they returned to pick up their belongings, and then they made their way back to Muhate,” the source said.
Despite the presence of security forces, public employees in Quissanga town also evacuated using boats to reach the provincial capital, Pemba.
Many displaced people from Quissanga had only recently returned, believing the district was relatively secure, but the latest attack has forced them to flee once again.
The number of casualties remains unclear but a military source reported that three people had died in the attack.
It was not immediately confirmed whether the victims were civilians, PADM soldiers or insurgents.
The resource-rich Cabo Delgado province has been the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency since 2017.
The militants, known locally as Al-Shabab (although not affiliated with the Somali extremist group of the same name), are linked to the Islamic State.
They have carried out brutal attacks on villages, towns and military positions, displacing over a million people and killing thousands.
Despite military operations by Mozambican forces, supported by troops from Rwanda, the insurgents continue to launch sporadic attacks, particularly in rural areas.
JN/APA