A group of suspected terrorists attacked a gemstone mine last Sunday (26) in the locality of Ravia, Meluco district, in Cabo Delgado province. The attack targeted artisanal miners operating in the area, causing panic and forcing a halt to activities.
According to a local source, the insurgents confronted miners who were at the site during the raid. The attackers seized a motorcycle used to transport sand, disrupting normal operations.
“The rebels entered and then took a motorcycle and began transporting the layer of sand that the miners had extracted to an unknown location,” the source said from Meluco, describing the group’s modus operandi.
In addition to the motorcycle, the attackers also took unspecified amounts of money. According to the same source, the cash was demanded from the miners as a condition for sparing their lives during the incursion.
Despite the violence of the attack, there are no reports of fatalities or injuries. However, the presence of the alleged terrorists forced miners to flee the site and seek refuge in the district headquarters of Meluco.
This is not an isolated incident, as the Ravia mines have been targeted in previous attacks. In 2025, similar groups attacked the area, killed miners, and seized dozens of motorcycles and cash, prompting intervention by the Defense and Security Forces.
The province of Cabo Delgado, rich in natural gas, has faced extremist attacks for eight years, since the first recorded incident on October 5, 2017, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia.
Source: Observador
