Maputo — A group of armed men, presumed to be islamist terrorists, attacked a passenger vehicle on Saturday morning in Palma district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”.
The vehicle was attacked in the Pundanhar administrative post, on the dirt road that links Palma to Nangade district, and then goes on to Mueda.
As the vehicle approached Pundanhar, a group of armed men opened fire. The paper’s sources said that some occupants of the vehicle were killed, but could not give an exact number for the fatalities.
The vehicle was set on fire, and two people injured in the attack were taken to the Nangade health centre.
The sources say that the Mozambican defence and security forces reacted promptly, and this may have saved other vehicles using the road. Survivors of the attack were given lifts to Nangade in the other vehicles.
Before the Saturday attack, this road was regarded as reasonably safe. People wishing to reach the provincial capital, Pemba, can take this road to Mueda, and then travel southwards to Pemba.
The direct road, national highway EN 380, has been blocked by the terrorists, who have occupied the town of Mocimboa da Praia for the past month.
Not all of Mocimboa da Praia district is under jihadist control. “Carta de Mocambique” reports an attack on Maputo village in Mocimboa da Praia last Friday, apparently designed to drive the last remaining residents out of the village. There were similar attacks against Tete village, also in Mocimboa da Praia, and Mute village in Palma.
Last Thursday, the terrorists showed that the islands off the Cabo Delgado coast, are not immune to attack. Raiders crossed from the mainland and attacked Vamizi island in the Quirimbas Arcipelago, where they burnt down huts and tourist resorts.
On the same day, terrorist groups attacked Unambo and Olumboa villages in Macomia district, burning down houses, and killing one person.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique