Africa-Press – Mozambique. The president of the provincial assembly of Niassa, in northern Mozambique, has warned of the possibility of insurgents using the province as a “refuge” following their flight in the face of the joint troop offensive in Cabo Delgado.
“Let us be more vigilant because the situation of the insurgents in Cabo Delgado is not good. At all costs [the armed groups] are seeking refuge and one of the refuges may be Niassa province,” Artur Chitandale said, quoted by Radio Mozambique.
The local press reported on Tuesday that a group of armed men had kidnapped about 100 young people and set fire to shacks and houses in the town of Naulala, in Niassa, one of which belonged to the local chief.
According to daily newspaper Notícias, there was a shootout between the border guards and the armed group, which is suspected to be related to insurgent groups from Cabo Delgado.
The president of the Niassa provincial assembly called for calm, saying that “it has not been defined that it is the insurgents” who have been carrying out attacks in the province.
“The situation is not clear about what is happening to us, particularly in our province. In these moments there may be opportunism, let’s be more vigilant,” said Artur Chitandale, calling on the population to report the “movement of strange people”.
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 which was later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) allowed for increased security, recovering several areas where there was rebel presence, including the town of Mocímboa da Praia, which had been occupied since August 2020.
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