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MOZAMBIQUE-UNREST-JIHADISTS
Suspected jihadists kill 13 in northern Mozambique
MAPUTO, March 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least 13 civilians have died in fresh
attacks in Mozambique’s volatile northern Cabo Delgado province where
Islamists have terrorised villagers in remote communities for more than a
year, local sources said Saturday.
One of the latest attacks occurred on Thursday evening on Ulo village in
Mocimboa da Praia district in which more than 120 houses were destroyed, the
sources said.
“Two additional attacks were carried out during the early hours of
(Friday), on the villages of Nabajo and Maculo, killing a total of 13
villagers,” a local resident said.
Hardline Islamists have launched several deadly attacks in the Muslim-
majority Cabo Delgado province in the past year, stoking unrest just as
Maputo pushes ahead with gas exploration efforts.
Last month, a Mozambican worker was killed and six others were wounded when
two road convoys operated by US gas giant Anadarko came under attack in
northern Mozambique.
They were the first such attacks by militants targeting gas operators in
the area.
The jihadists — reportedly seeking to impose Sharia law in the province —
have terrorised remote communities, killing more than 200 people since
October 2017
The Islamists belong to a group originally known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama —
Arabic for “followers of the prophet” — but commonly referred to by locals
and officials as “Al-Shabaab”. It has no known link to the notorious Al-
Shahaab group in Somalia.
Human Rights Watch has accused security forces of serious human rights
violations while cracking down on the insurgency and several journalists have
been arrested in the area.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1710 hrs