A group of armed rebels has attacked the town of Awasse, the administrative post of Diaca, in the district of Mocimboa da Praia, in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, local sources told Lusa.
The attack, which began at around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, prompting residents to flee.
“Awasse is under attack – everyone has fled – it’s sad,” said a source, speaking from the bush.
The sources reported that it was unclear from which direction the insurgents were coming, adding that shots were fired indiscriminately, taking the community and the local detachment of Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces by surprise.
“All we heard was gunfire everywhere,” said one person on the run, requesting anonymity. “Nobody imagined it or expected it: it all happened so quickly.”
There are no reports of fatalities, but the rebel attack was met with a response from members of the Defence and Security Forces, positioned at the junction between the districts of Mocimboa da Praia and Mueda, further north in Cabo Delgado, the sources said.
“I don’t know if there are any deaths, but I managed to escape with all my family,” lamented another source.
This is not the first time that insurgents have attacked the community of Awasse, in the district of Mocimboa da Praia, located along the EN380 highway, almost 300 kilometres from the provincial capital of Pemba.
