The suspected terrorists appeared en masse on Wednesday in the village of Litapata, oqwhich led the population to begin fleeing.
The population of Litapata, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, is abandoning their village after detecting the presence of suspected terrorists, local sources told Lusa this Thursday.
The insurgents appeared en masse in the village on Wednesday, about 20 kilometers from the district headquarters of Muidumbe, prompting the population to begin fleeing.
“There were many. They invaded the village and we all started to run away“, described a community source.
There are no reports of deaths, but the presence of the insurgents is seen by the community as the step before a possible attack, hence the escape: “They are attacking the town of Miangalewa almost every week, showing that they are still capable of killing us, and That’s why we left.”
In addition to Litapata, residents of Namacande (headquarters of Muidumbe) began to abandon the town, fearing an attack, given its proximity.
“Namacande too, people are leaving,” reported another local source.
Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has faced an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group .
The last major attack took place on May 10 and 11 this year, in the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred rebels looting the village, causing several deaths, and heavy fighting with the Mozambique Defense and Security Forces and the Rwandan military, who support Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.
