Two killed in insurgent attack in northern Mozambique

An attack claimed by insurgents in a remote tourist town in northern Mozambique has killed at least two rangers, a local conservation group said.

The gas-rich area has been plagued for years by insurgent violence that has killed thousands of people, uprooted over a million from their homes and forced the suspension of a giant gas exploration project by TotalEnergies.

The attack on April 29 at a nature reserve claimed the lives of two anti-poaching scouts, the Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) said at the weekend.

Niassa, a province neighbouring insurgency hotbed Cabo Delgado, is isolated and information takes days to trickle in.

'Severely' wounded

"Over the past three days, our team has worked tirelessly to find and support affected staff and community members," NCP said in a statement, after more than 2,000 people fled to safety into the bush.

At least two other rangers were still unaccounted for and one was "severely" wounded, said NCP, which promotes the co-existence of people with lions.

Last week's attack in Niassa comes after a nearly three-year lull.

It followed another on April 19 when the insurgents attacked a nearby hunting safari camp, NCP said, prompting the NGO's "team and assets" to be evacuated.

Over 1.3 million displaced by conflict

The group remained active in districts in Cabo Delgado from where they launched attacks, according to conflict tracker organisation ACLED.

At least 6,000 people, including 2,500 civilians, have been killed in northern Mozambique since 2017 due to insurgency in the region, stalling the exploitation of vast offshore gas deposits discovered in 2010.

More than 1.3 million have been displaced by the conflict, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

In a major incident in 2021, militants attacked the port town of Palma in an attack that lasted several days, sending thousands of people fleeing into the surrounding forest.