Mozambique’s military says it had launched an operation in the country’s north following a new attack blamed on militant insurgents who allegedly beheaded three local people.
The military said forces from Mozambique and Rwanda had been deployed to a dense forested area near the border with Tanzania following the attack reported at the weekend.
Reports from the area said insurgents killed three people on Sunday at an artisanal gold mine in the Meluco district of gas-rich Cabo Delgado province, which has in recent months been the target of successive attacks.
The Mozambique defence force confirmed what it said was a terrorist attack in Meluco, which is roughly 150 kilometres south of the border with Tanzania. It did not give details.
In response, troops have been mobilised to neutralise the insurgents, who continue to threaten the safety of the local population”, it said.
Rwanda and neighbouring countries deployed troops to the area in 2021 after militants launched an insurgency in 2017. Close to 5,800 people have been killed.
