Insurgents killed four civilians and injured two soldiers during a series of attacks in Quissanga district on Thursday.
Two buses carrying soldiers to the north of the province were attacked and homes in the villages of Lindi, Tapara and Songueia were set on fire, according to reports reaching Zitamar’s correspondent in the neighbouring district of Meluco. Three of the four people killed were allegedly beheaded and the other was shot.
Local sources have told Zitamar News that the villages affected include Lindi, N'nawa, Tapara, Songueia and Quissanga 2, near Montepuez River.
Pinnacle News reported that Lindi was attacked by a 22-strong group of insurgents and security analyst Jasmine Opperman tweeted that the bus driver’s assistant was also killed.
There have been several reports of attacks in Quissanga in recent days, reportedly due to terrorists moving south from Mocímboa da Praia district after their bases there were captured by Mozambican and Rwandan forces.
Last week the Mozambican police general commander Bernardino Rafael told people to return to their lands in Quissanga because the region had been freed of terrorists. Quissanga lies within the buffer zone supposedly being protected by the Southern African Development Community’s Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) forces.
This article was produced by Zitamar and Mediafax under the Cabo Ligado project, in collaboration with ACLED. The contents of the article are the sole responsibility of Zitamar News.
