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Mozambican army soldiers patrol the streets on March 7, 2018 in Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique, after increased security in the area following a two-day attack by suspected Islamists.
PHOTO: Adrien Barbier / AFP
- Dozens of soldiers died in recent weeks in Mozambique
- “The terrorists allowed military vehicles to enter an area of dense forest and then opened fire with heavy weapons … causing huge casualties in our forces,” said a senior military official.
- Details about the militants are vague. They call themselves al-Shabaab but have no known link to the group of that name operating in Somalia.
Maputo – Islamist militants in Mozambique killed two dozen soldiers in an ambush attack, military sources told AFP, a major show of force against the military’s fight to quell an insurgency in the north.
An obscure jihadist group has wreaked havoc in the northern Cabo Delgado region since 2017, targeting towns and cities in a bid to establish an Islamist caliphate.
The insurgents grew bolder this year and took control of large swaths of territory that the army has so far been unable to regain.
The militants ambushed a group of soldiers passing through the Muidumbe district on Sunday and opened fire on the group, killing at least 25.
Two military sources only confirmed the attack in recent days on condition of anonymity.
“The terrorists let military vehicles into an area of dense forest and then opened fire with heavy weapons … causing heavy casualties in our forces,” a senior military official told AFP on Thursday in the capital Maputo.
“We had 25 men killed and dozens more wounded,” he said, adding that the attackers retreated into the forest after the assault.
A second military officer confirmed the ambush on Friday, saying attacks with such high casualties have become more common.
“It is strange how the terrorists have accurate information about the movement of government forces,” said the official, who is based in the Cabo Delgado district of Palma.
“Attacks like this … deeply affect the morale of the troops,” he said.
Read also | How the extremist situation in Mozambique affects South Africa
It has become increasingly difficult to communicate with Cabo Delgado as militants have destroyed several telephone lines.
The Mozambican government is also wary of bad publicity and sources are reluctant to speak to the media.
The army continues to fight to retake the key port city of Mocimboa da Praia, which insurgents seized in August.
The city is about 60 kilometers south of multi-billion dollar gas exploration projects off the Afungi Peninsula.
Details about the militants are vague. They call themselves al-Shabaab but have no known link to the group of that name operating in Somalia.
Last year, they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
At least 10 of Cabo Delgado’s 17 districts have been affected by violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data Group (ACLED), despite a reinforced military presence in the area.
ACLED has also documented more than 2,300 deaths, at least half of them civil.
The Mozambican government estimates that more than 500,000 people have been displaced by the riots.
This week, the United States promised to help the southeastern African country tackle the insurgency and called for more international cooperation to end the violence.
