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A boat carrying 1,200 survivors of a deadly attack by Islamic State-linked insurgents in northern Mozambique reached safety at Pemba port, some of them crying on arrival after spending days in hiding in the Bush.
Aid workers were at the port giving food to those disembarking from the ferry, while police and soldiers controlled crowds of people delighted to see relatives rescued in the attack that began last week in Palma, said a Reuters reporter at the port.
Many people reportedly dispersed into a dense forest or tried to escape by boat, aid workers said.
Moved Mariamo Tagir arriving on the ferry told Reuters TV she spent seven days in the bush, crying every day. “I don’t know where my son is. It’s very painful, ”Tagir said. “The situation is really bad, a lot of dead.”
Islamist insurgents have been increasingly active in the surrounding province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, although it is unclear whether they have a unified goal or what they are fighting for.
The neighborhood where Palma is located is adjacent to natural gas projects worth (£ 43 billion) $ 60 billion. It is home to around 110,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, more than 40,000 of whom have taken refuge there after fleeing attacks elsewhere.
The government of Mozambique has confirmed dozens of deaths in Palma, including at least seven killed when militants ambushed vehicles trying to escape from the Amarula Hotel. It is confirmed that a South African has died because of this.
British national Philip Mawer, missing since the attack, was also likely killed in the incident, his employer RA International said in a statement on behalf of his family, adding that a body matching his description was found but not formally identified. “The family is devastated by the loss,” the statement read.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned about this latest development. We are in close contact with the family and are working with the Government of Mozambique and the Met Police to confirm more details.
“We support the Mozambican people against the threat of terrorism and work with the government to restore peace and stability.”
Military operations were underway on Wednesday, according to footage shot by local news channel TVM, which showed soldiers carrying rocket-propelled grenades and rifles into the area, along with reinforcements arriving by helicopter.
“I cannot say at the moment that we have the whole village under control,” army spokesman Chongo Vidigal said in the video, adding that the security forces were however present in the port area.
Reuters has not been able to independently verify the city’s accounts. Most communications were cut off after the attack began on March 24. Phone calls to the government of Mozambique and security officials went unanswered on Thursday.
Aid groups believe the attack displaced tens of thousands of people. Hundreds, including many foreign workers, were evacuated by air.
On Wednesday afternoon, a United Nations Migration Agency tracker showed more than 8,100 people had been displaced, nearly half of whom were children. About 20% had arrived in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado, with others in the districts of Mueda, Montepuez and Nangade elsewhere in the province. However, the extent of the losses and displacements remains uncertain.
The ferry – organized by the French energy company Total in coordination with the Mozambican government and the UN – docked around 8 a.m. local time in Pemba.
Total, which has a gas project on the Afungi peninsula near Palma, said in a statement that there were nearly 1,200 passengers on board, mostly women and children.
A humanitarian official said the government was controlling people arriving in Pemba to prevent infiltration by armed groups.
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