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Since Wednesday, March 24, the city of Palma has been controlled by an armed Islamist group. The city of 75,000 is located in northern Mozambique, near a gas plant owned by French Total.
– Last Wednesday, a group of terrorists sneaked into Palma and targeted an action that led to the cowardly slaughter of dozens of defenseless people, says a spokesman for the Defense Ministry.
The rebel group Al Shabaab, which is said to have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State, has targeted shops, military installations and banks. The civilian population has desperately tried to escape from the city.
So far, few photos and videos have been obtained of the area and it is unclear how many have died in the bloody uprising.
Hotel Amarula where people have tried to hide from the rebels has been attacked
Photo: Hotel website.
Siege hotel
Hundreds of workers from Total’s gas plant took refuge in the Amarula Hotel. According to a spokesman for the country’s Defense Ministry, people were shot during a rescue attempt.
“Seven people died while trying to escape from the besieged hotel,” Omar Saranga told the Associated Press.
The civilians are said to have died when the military convoy that was supposed to transport them to safety was ambushed.
The exact number of people killed and injured in the city is uncertain, as communication with the city is blocked.
1,400 of the gas plant workers made it out of the besieged city in a boat.
Like in the streets
The situation in the city of Palma remains unclear, five days after the attack began. According to Human Rights Watch, rebels have entered people’s homes and killed both women and children.
Eyewitnesses tell the BBC about headless corpses in the streets. 1,400 of the gas plant workers have fled the city by boat.
According to the police, the boat with the workers must have arrived safely in the regional capital, Pemba.
According to the Mozambique Defense Ministry, the army has tried in recent days to rescue civilians from the city.
– We have carried out actions in the last three days. Attention has focused on rescuing hundreds of national and foreign citizens and protecting their properties, said Lt. Omar Saranga.
A woman is standing in front of her burned house. One of the many victims of the Islamist uprising of the last three years.
Photo: Marco Longari / AFP
Islamic statistics
The armed insurgents attacking Palma since Wednesday belong to an Islamist group calling itself Al Shabaab. The group is not affiliated with the Somali movement of the same name.
They must have a connection to the Islamic State terrorist network.
The uprising in Mozambique has been going on for three years. According to the UN, the movement, which is made up of young Muslims, has killed 2,600 people. 670,000 people have been forced to flee due to violence and riots.
The Afungi gas project is worth $ 24 billion.
Photo: Martin Bureau / AFP
The city of Palma is located in an area with large deposits of natural gas. French Total operates a giant gas plant in Afungi. The facility has been closed due to previous attacks and was about to reopen. It is the workplace of several thousand local and international workers.
Therefore, the French gas extraction project worth $ 24 billion is put on hold.
