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12 dead in suspected Mozambique Islamist attack
MAPUTO, Nov 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Twelve people have been killed in a
suspected Islamist attack in northern Mozambique, with thousands of villagers
fleeing the area into neighbouring Tanzania, police sources said Sunday.
Early Friday, “there was an attack in Nangade district, where there are no
security patrols. The attackers killed 12 people, mostly women and children,”
a police source in Cabo Delgado province, who asked not to be named, told
AFP.
The attack took place in the village of Chicuaia Velha, just a few
kilometres (miles) from Tanzania, forcing several thousand people to cross
the border to seek safety, police said.
A local journalist said the villagers were killed by machete or died when
their houses were set on fire by the attackers.
It was the third such incident in the last month in Cabo Delgado, leaving
20 dead in all.
The authorities have responded with a crackdown, rounding up some 200
suspects.
Over the past year, hardline Islamists have been active in the region,
stoking unrest just as the government in Maputo is pushing ahead with oil and
gas development in the province.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1703 hrs