Fighting around the strategic Mozambique town of Palma entered a second day on Thursday as ISIL-linked fighters occupied and ransacked it despite French energy giant Total claiming it was secure.
Mozambique’s government said the town – in its northernmost province of Cabo Delgado and about 10km (6.2 miles) from gas developments worth $60bn – came under a three-pronged attack on Wednesday and security forces moved in to establish order.
Bodies were visible in the streets, some of them beheaded, and helicopter gunships exchanged fire with the attackers, a security source told Reuters news agency.
The attack came shortly after French oil giant Total announced plans to resume construction at the nearby site of a $20bn offshore gas project.
Defence ministry spokesman Omar Saranga said Mozambique’s security forces (SDS) were “pursuing the enemy’s movement” and working “tirelessly to restore security and order”.
“SDS will do everything to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the population … while continuing to guarantee the protection of economic projects,” he told reporters in the capital Maputo.
Saranga said the number of any casualties and the extent of damage were not yet known, adding mobile communications in the area had been “interrupted”.
Helicopters provided air support as small groups of people fled by road, said the security source, who was involved in the operation to secure Palma. Total had no immediate comment on the impact of the attack on its operations.
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Source: Aljazeera
