Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi said on Tuesday 25, that the armed groups carrying out attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado “suffered their biggest casualties ever” in clashes with government forces in May.
“The terrorists suffered the highest casualties of all time, hundreds and hundreds fell to the ground, they were put out of action,” said Nyusi.
The head of state was referring to the “latest developments” in the theatre of war in Cabo Delgado, while speaking at the central ceremonies of national independence day.
The insurgents suffered heavy casualties when they tried to launch an attack of “some scale” on the Mbau area, in the district of Cabo Delgado, but were stopped by a joint response from Mozambican and Rwandan government forces.
“Once again, our salute to these sons who work day and night to stabilise the region,” said the Mozambican head of state.
Filipe Nyusi said that the rebels had tried to attack Mbau, after failing in their attempt to occupy the town of Quissanga and spreading their action to the south of Cabo Delgado province and invading districts in the neighbouring province of Nampula.
“In March, terrorists attacked the town of Quissanga, on an abnormal scale, and the Defence and Security Forces had contact in response to these acts, after which the enemy left the area and started making isolated attacks,” he stressed.
The head of state pointed to the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado province as a challenge to peace and security, defending national unity as an instrument for victory against armed violence in that region.
“The great challenge is to control the terrorism that is troubling some districts of Cabo Delgado province, but we are convinced that if we are united, we will win,” declared the Mozambican president.
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.
The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May on the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents sacking the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with Mozambique’s defence and security forces.
The community in other districts of the province has reported the movement of these groups of insurgents, who cause panic as they pass through the forests, but there have been no reports of clashes, which is happening at a time when the peasants are trying to carry out harvest work in the fields.
Mozambique’s President, Filipe Nyusi, said on 16 June that the actions of the various defence forces had made it possible to wipe out “practically all” the bases of the terrorist groups operating in Cabo Delgado, which are now limited to “walking in the bush”.
Lusa
