Jihadists seize major port in northern Mozambique gas

Jihadists seized Mocimboa da Praia in gas-rich northern Mozambique on Wednesday after a series of recent attacks in that region, according to a local news site, a military source confirmed to AFP. . " The port of Mocimboa da Praia was taken by terrorists at dawn " Wednesday, according to the Moz24Horas site, information confirmed to AFP by a military source who indicated that " Mocimboa da Praia fell " into the hands of jihadists . Using a rocket launcher, the jihadists hit a boat in the port, according to the military source who admitted that " the situation is complicated ".

Read also: Mozambique: chronicle of a disaster announced

The Mozambique Defense Forces (SDF) confirmed in the evening that " terrorists " launched " coordinated attacks " on several villages near the port last week in an attempt to occupy the city. " At the moment operations are underway to neutralize the terrorists who use the populations of these regions as shields, " the SDF said in a statement.

The port of Mocimboa da Praia, located in the province of Cabo Delgado, is about 80 km south of the Afungi peninsula which is home to important facilities for the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of the larger investments in Africa in which the French group Total participates. The port is currently used for these gas activities, hence its importance in the region.

At the end of June, gunmen killed 8 workers from a private construction company working for Total on its multibillion-dollar gas project in Cabo Delgado province. At the same time, jihadists had already attacked and temporarily occupied Mocimboa da Praia. A previous occupation of the city a few months earlier had caused a mass exodus of its inhabitants.

A thousand deaths since 2017

The north of Mozambique has been the scene since 2017 of a jihadist insurgency that has killed a thousand people and hampered the development of the exploitation of its offshore gas reserves. Attacks by workers working on liquefied natural gas development projects had been rare so far. The attacks in this region have already killed at least 1,300 people, according to the NGO The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

Read also: The Pope urges Mozambique for peace

In its latest report published Wednesday, ACLED writes that " insurgents and government security forces have clashed more or less consistently in the region since the evening of August 5 ". In May, the UN estimated the number of people displaced by the attacks at at least 210,000. Despite the unrest in the region, Total said it would go ahead with its $ 23 billion gas project.