At least four dead in terrorist attack

Maputo, 13 Nov (AIM) – At least four people lost their lives on Friday during an attack carried out by the self-styled “Islamic State” terrorist group in Novo Cabo Delgado village, Macomia district, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Moçambique.”

According to sources in the district capital, Macomia town, cited by the paper, in addition to the deaths, a further four people were injured. Of the injured, one victim is female. The other three are members of the Local Force from Novo Cabo Delgado and the nearby villages of Litandacua and Miangeleua.

“The members of the local force from the three villages had gathered in pursuit of the attackers, minutes after the attack. They came across the armed men and there was an exchange of fire”, the source said.

The source also claimed that the position of the Mozambique’s armed forces (FADM) closest to Novo Cabo Delgado did not intervene when it was supposedly requested by one of the local force commanders, and that members of the local force followed alone in pursuit of the attackers.

“During the chase, they clashed and three men from the local force were hit, two by bazooka shells and one by a bullet in the leg”, he added.

A resident of Macomia town, who received relatives from Novo Cabo Delgado, said that the armed men arrived in the morning at a time when the population was attending an initiation rites ceremony.

Recently, the terrorists kidnapped several people in the districts of Macomia and Mocímboa da Praia, and it is believed that they are looking for new members as a result of the setbacks they have suffered recently.

Cabo Delgado has been plagued by terrorism since October 2017 and, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the conflict has left one million people displaced and about 4,000 dead.

(AIM)

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