Police have advised United Nations (UN) agencies and NGOs to avoid the R762 road connecting the towns of Palma and Mocímboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province, after it was attacked by Islamic State-backed insurgents twice in one week, local sources told Zitamar News.
Gunfire was reported around the village of Quelimane in Mocímboa da Praia district on the R762 on 27 June and Islamic State later claimed to have killed a civilian in the area, but this has not been independently verified.
Yesterday, insurgents struck again, attacking a truck on the road near the village of Mute in Palma district, just under 30km from the town of Palma. The driver managed to escape. A passenger died, but it is unclear if this was an accident or not.
Mute is the location of a farm managed by South African firm SEBO, which provides food to the Joint Task Force, a Mozambican military contingent responsible for protecting the liquified natural gas project site at the Afungi peninsula next to Palma town.
Zitamar understands that UN agencies and NGOs have suspended all operations on the R762 on the advice of the police and they will reassess the security situation tomorrow.
The two attacks this week mark the first incident of insurgent violence in Palma district since February 2023, when insurgents clashed with the Local Force militia around the village of Maputo, causing the R762 to be closed.
This article was produced by Zitamar News under the Cabo Ligado project, in collaboration with Mediafax and ACLED. The contents of the article are the sole responsibility of Zitamar News.
