Maputo, 21 Feb (AIM) – Islamist terrorists have stepped up their offensive in Chiure district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, reports Wednesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”.
The jihadists passed through the administrative posts of Mazeze and Chiure-Velho, and on Tuesday they reached Mhipa village and the Ocua administrative post.
They then moved south, apparently heading for Namapa, in the neighbouring province of Nampula. When they reached the main north-south highway (EN1), they set a fuel truck on fire. At a crossroads, they clashed with a unit of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM). It is not yet clear if there were any casualties.
The terrorist advance led many families to flee to the district capital, Chiure town, to the provincial capital, Pemba, or even across the provincial boundary to Namapa.
One resident told “Carta de Mocambique” that “the agitation began in the morning when reports circulated that the terrorists were heading towards Chiure town. In fact, they weren’t terrorists, but Rwandan troops. People were afraid and abandoned their houses”.
On Tuesday night, the jihadists displayed a photographic exhibition, in which they boasted of beheading three people in Magaia village.
Many of the families who fled to Chiure town spent the night in the open, since the authorities had not created any conditions for their accommodation.
(AIM)
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