Several dozen people have been killed in a large-scale jihadist attack since Wednesday in Palma, in the north of Mozambique, the Mozambican government announced on Sunday.
Seven people were killed in an ambush as security forces tried to evacuate nearly 200 people holed up in a hotel in the port city that had fallen into the hands of armed groups, the defense ministry said at a conference Press.
Thousands of people continued to evacuate the area by all means and in an emergency, according to several sources and witnesses.
Palma fell into the hands of these armed groups on Friday evening, after more than 48 hours of fighting.
A situation “still very confused”
“More than a hundred people are missing”, researcher Martin Ewi of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria told AFP, referring to a “Still very confused situation”.
The jihadists, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and who have terrorized the predominantly Muslim province of Cabo Delgado, bordering Tanzania for more than three years, launched their surprise attack Wednesday afternoon on three simultaneous fronts, sparking the panic for its 75,000 inhabitants.
Witnesses told the NGO Human Rights Watch that they shot “All over the place on people and buildings”, leaving a trail of bodies in the streets.
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