The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack with dozens of deaths in northern Mozambique

The terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS, according to its acronym in English) has claimed responsibility for the attack that the coastal city of Palma has suffered since last Wednesday, in the province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, according to the specialized website SITE in jihadism.

This offensive has caused "dozens of deaths," said the Mozambican government on Sunday, while ISIS establishes the death toll at 55, among nationals and foreigners.

The terrorist group, which calls itself the Islamic State of Central Africa (ISCA), has assured that Palma is under its control after having attacked military barracks and government buildings.

"There is enormous confusion," says religious Ofelia Robledo by phone from Pemba, the provincial capital, also located on the coast.

"But it has been one of the most terrible attacks we have experienced," he says in reference to the offensive that began last Wednesday in Palma and which has caused thousands of people to have fled both by sea and cross country.

The

ship

arrived in Pemba from Palma on Sunday with some 1,300 workers from the French company Total, which is developing a large gas extraction project with a planned investment of 20,000 million euros a dozen kilometers from Palma.

This weekend a dozen small boats, as well as fishing and sailing boats, also docked in the regional capital, all of them with civilians fleeing the violence in the attacked city.

Some 6,000 people, many of whom had moved to Palma from their small inland villages after having suffered jihadist attacks in recent months, went to seek refuge at the Total camp located in the outskirts of the city, as confirmed by sources close to the city. to a humanitarian reception operation deployed in the area.

These facilities are being protected by a private security company.

The same source revealed that the majority of the city's inhabitants are fleeing through the mountains on rural roads and tracks because the road that connects Palma with Pemba is not safe, hence many are still officially missing.

“Little information arrives from the area,” says Alberto Vera, bishop of Nacala and president of Cáritas Mozambique, “the Army spokesman recognized seven dead in an ambush when dozens of people tried to escape from a hotel, but it is known that there are many more dead ”, he assures.

The conflict in Cabo Delgado, which has caused more than 2,000 deaths and some 670,000 displaced persons according to UNHCR, began in October 2017 when a local jihadist group called Al Shabab, originally a radical Islamist sect, began attacking police stations and facilities of the Government in the interior of the province.

After declaring loyalty to the Islamic State, this group has intensified its violence and managed to take control of several northern towns, including Mocimboa da Praia in 2020.

The testimonies of the displaced people allude to the violence of Al Shabab, which executes those men who decide not to join its ranks.

The NGO Save the Children denounced about two weeks ago that the jihadists had even beheaded children as young as 11 years old.

For its part, Amnesty International published a report on March 3 stating that the Mozambican Army and the South African private company DAG had carried out war crimes against civilians in their counterinsurgency operations.