Islamic State-backed insurgents beheaded at least three people at an unlicensed gold mine in the Meluco district of Cabo Delgado province on Monday, local sources told Zitamar News.
The attack took place at the Ravia artisanal gold mine, approximately 60km north of the town of Montepuez. At least three miners, who a local source said were from the village of Namoro in Montepuez district, were killed. Several others were kidnapped, according to another local source.
Over 90 people from Namoro and the nearby village of Nairoto arrived by truck in Montepuez this morning, fleeing the insurgents, one of the sources reported.
The insurgents were seen using a stolen tractor to carry food towards Meluco, the source said.
Insurgent movements in Meluco district were reported on 18 January near the village of Iba, around 80km from the Ravia gold mine. On 21 January, a local source said 36 insurgents were observed in the village of Minhanha, less than 50 km from the mine.
It is unusual for insurgents to operate so far west in Cabo Delgado. They last struck in the area in February 2023, when around 30 men attacked the village of Nairoto, 30km from the Ravia mine, forcing UK-based mining company Gemfields to evacuate staff from its nearby gold mining project.