Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi said, in a speech broadcast on television, that the army is fighting with militants who launched a major attack on the city of Macomia in the north of the country on Friday morning.
The city is located in Cabo Delgado, a gas-rich province in the north where militants linked to the terrorist group ISIS began carrying out violent acts in 2017.
Two security sources said hundreds of terrorists were believed to be participating in the latest attack.
“Macomia has been under attack since this morning. The exchange of fire is still ongoing,” the Mozambican president added, adding that the militants initially withdrew after about 45 minutes of fighting, but reorganized their ranks and returned.
Friday’s attack appears to be the most dangerous in a long time.
A regional force of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which deployed to Mozambique in 2021, began withdrawing last month as its mandate expired in July.
The President stated that attacks could occur during such transitional periods, and expressed his hope that SADC forces would be able to intervene and assist.
It was not clear whether the forces were still deployed in the area or participating in the fighting.
Rwanda has deployed troops to Mozambique to help confront terrorist violence.
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