Africa-Press – Mozambique. A group of armed men kidnapped about a hundred youths and set fire to homes and shacks in the town of Naulala, in Niassa province, northern Mozambique, the local press reported on Tuesday.
An unknown number of armed men reportedly invaded Naulala on Saturday morning, where they remained for about an hour, according to the report in today’s edition of state newspaper Notícias, which details several steps of the incident.
As well as breaking into houses, the men allegedly stole food, medicines and set fire to a vehicle of the Niassa Special Reserve and four motorbikes, as well as kidnapping about a hundred youths.
Among the houses vandalised is that of the local chief, the newspaper said.
Most of the population is sheltering in a primary school in the town of Mecula district, and some are in the forests in the region, near the Niassa Reserve.
According to Notícias, there was a shootout between the border guard force and the armed group, which is suspected to be related to insurgent groups from Cabo Delgado.
Members of the Mozambican Defence Forces were sent to the location to protect the population, the paper said, who found two minors.
Niassa province borders Cabo Delgado, which has been terrorised since October 2017 by armed rebels with some attacks being claimed by the Islamic State group.
The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.
Since July, an offensive by government troops with support from Rwanda, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed for an increase in security, recovering several areas where there was rebel presence, including the town of Mocimboa da Praia, which had been occupied since August 2020.
Listen to the VOA Portugues report (in Portuguese).
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