Renewed insurgent activity in the Palma district of Mozambique during the first two weeks of August has forced subcontractors working for TotalEnergies in the region to suspend some activities.
According to local sources, the subcontractors were warned that the security situation had recently deteriorated, and operations had been suspended almost a week ago. Workers remain confined within the TotalEnergies camp in Afungi.
Insurgent movements were reported in communities such as Maputo (on the boundary between Palma and Mocímboa da Praia), Mute and Maganja, all located near the Afungi camp.
In these localities, Islamist militants looted food supplies and abducted six people, who were only released after paying ransoms ranging between 10,000 and 30,000 meticais (approximately 150 to 500 US dollars).
Two members of the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FADM), captured and killed by insurgents on 15 August, were part of the Special Operational Theatre of Afungi (TOEA), created to protect TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG.
The victims were intercepted while travelling on a motorbike driven by a moto-taxi operator, on the road between Pundanhar and Palma town, where they were headed on personal matters.
The moto-taxi driver was later released after paying a ransom, said a Palma resident who knows the victim. He did not disclose the amount paid. The motorbike, however, was taken by insurgents.
Three days later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda channels, releasing photographs showing the two dead soldiers, the motorbike, and the military identification card of one of them.
A Defence and Security Forces source told MOZTIMES that, following the killings, an order was issued banning unauthorised movements by soldiers deployed at the TOEA.
“The command made it clear in a meeting that no soldier should leave for any location without completing their mission,” the officer explained.
The two soldiers were killed amid a resurgence of insurgent activity in southern Palma villages, the first since Mocímboa da Praia was retaken in late 2021 with Rwandan support.
On Saturday, a group of insurgents intercepted a vehicle on the Mocímboa da Praia–Palma road. About an hour later, the car was released along with its passengers, who were nevertheless forced to pay money to secure their freedom, according to a local source. (MT)
Mozambican Navy accused of attacking and killing civilians in Cabo Delgado
Meanwhile, Mozambique’s Navy is accused of killing civilians travelling on a sailing boat on Friday morning (22 August) off the coast between Macomia and Ibo districts, in Cabo Delgado province.
The exact number of fatalities remains unclear, but some sources report that between five and seven men were killed.
A source who knew one of the victims told MOZTIMES the vessel left Mefunvo Island early Friday morning bound for Mahate village, in Quissanga, where it loaded more than 200 bags of salt. Its destination was Pangane, Macomia, a coastal town receiving many returnees, mainly fishermen and informal fish traders.
“The boat left Mefunvo for Mahate to load salt for Pangane. But it never arrived, because between Matemo and Pangane, men, probably soldiers from Ibo, attacked the vessel,” the source said, without confirming the death toll.
Another source told MOZTIMES that Navy troops had left Ibo district headquarters after being informed by authorities of a boat allegedly hijacked by insurgents and carrying food supplies from a village called Mussemuko.
Soldiers fired on the boat’s occupants without verifying the report and later pulled back, witnesses told MOZTIMES.
Some bodies were later found by fishermen along the shore between Goludo and Crimize villages, at the southern end of Mucojo administrative post. Residents of Goludo eventually buried the victims.
This is the second time in about a month that the Navy has been accused of killing civilians travelling by boat in the same area. A similar incident was reported in July, but a spokesperson for the Mozambican Armed Defence Forces did not confirm it, merely promising an investigation.
Insurgents often exploit violence by the Defence and Security Forces against civilians to justify their actions, portraying themselves as defenders of Muslim communities abused by government troops.
MOZTIMES has also established that insurgent groups from inland Quissanga have recently moved along the coast stretch between Ibo and Macomia. These groups reportedly forced local sailors to transport them towards the banks of the Messalo River in northern Cabo Delgado.
Written by The Mozambique Times and republished with permission.
The original article Fresh Palma Attacks by IS-Backed Insurgents Stall TotalEnergies Subcontractors can be found here.
The original article Mozambican Navy Accused of Attacking and Killing Civilians in Cabo Delgado can be found here.
