Maputo, 1 Feb (AIM) – Islamist terrorists on Tuesday killed two members of the local militia in an attack in Mecufi district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
According to a report in Wednesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Moçambique”, the attack took place in an area between the Mecufi village of Titimule and Naminaue village, in the neighbouring district of Metuge.
It is believed that the attack was launched by the same group of terrorists that attacked the village of Pulo, also in Metuge district, at the weekend, and are now believed to be moving southwards.
According to sources in Metuge town, cited by the paper, the terrorists launched an ambush, at about 16.00, against members of the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces who were on patrol in four vehicles.
In addition to the two deaths, other members of the local militia and of the regular government forces suffered injuries, some of them serious, in the attack. They are now receiving treatment in Pemba, the provincial capital.
“Our forces were ambushed”, said one of the paper’s sources. “The terrorists first heard the noise of cars and they ambushed the defence forces at around 16.00 and there were these consequences”. He added that the four vehicles were set on fire.
The attack came a day after President Filipe Nyusi, speaking to reporters in Rome, during the Italy-Africa Summit, called on the terrorists “to reconsider their actions and join the country’s socio-economic development efforts.”
The governor of Cabo Delgado, Valige Tauabo, has called on the population to remain resilient and not to abandon their land, guaranteeing that the terrorists were passing through, fleeing Mozambican forces who have chased them out of Macomia district.
(AIM)
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