Security forces killed around 50 jihadist fighters in heavy fighting this week in the far north of Mozambique, Interior Minister Amada Miquidade reported on Thursday.
The first confrontation, on Wednesday, on a road connecting the villages of Chinda and Mbau, resulted in the death of 42 "terrorists" and the second, Thursday in the district of Quissanga, left 8 dead in the Islamist ranks, a he clarified before the press.
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The minister also confirmed that the jihadists had carried out around twenty attacks since the beginning of the month in this same Muslim-majority province of Cabo Delgado. The regional branch of the Islamic State group claimed one on social media, claiming to have killed two soldiers and captured military vehicles.
"These deadly actions have caused the destruction of local and state infrastructure, the destruction of 11 villages, the abduction of 16 civilians and the disappearance of 14 others," said the Minister of the Interior. "They aim to demoralize and sow confusion among the populations (...) and to thwart our desire to build a prosperous nation" , he deplored.
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Since October 2017, Islamist groups known as "Al-Shabab" (young people, in Arabic) have been spreading terror in Cabo Delgado, a province rich in important underwater gas fields. Their attacks against the populations and the security forces have already left more than 1,100 dead, including 700 civilians, according to the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled). According to the authorities, at least 150,000 people have been displaced by the violence.
Despite repeated promises from the regime, the military and police, recently backed by foreign private security companies, fail to bring order.