REVIEW - Dozens Of Locals, Foreigners Dead In IS Ambush On Mozambique Gas Town

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2021) Dozens of people, both locals and foreigners, were killed in a days-long Islamist attack on Mozambique's northern town of Palma, which is home to international gas projects.

The exact number of deaths is unknown. Julia Wachave of local women's rights association Muleide told Sputnik on Monday that at least 57 people had been killed, including seven foreigners, adding that the figures are varying.

The Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) has claimed responsibility for the attack, France 24 reported on Monday.

Militants launched an attack on the gas-rich town last Wednesday as French energy giant Total was set to resume work at the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project. The latter was put on halt in January over security concerns in the northern Cabo Delgado province. The region has been rocked by the Islamist insurgency since 2017 and even reportedly saw beheadings of children by IS-linked militants earlier this March.

Amid the fresh Islamist attack, thousands of locals and foreigners rushed to the beach to escape the town on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Among foreigners are believed to be contractors from France, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

By Friday evening, militants took control of Palma. On Saturday, Mozambique authorities tried to evacuate some 180 people, including expatriate workers, who had been trapped inside the Amarula hotel. During attacks on convoys with evacuees and the hotel siege by militants, dozens of people were killed.

According to The Times, a UK citizen was killed while attempting to escape from an attack on the hotel.

Among the fatalities is also South African man Adrian Nel, 40, who reportedly moved to Mozambique in January to build workers' accommodation camps in the gas town.

The Italian Foreign Ministry earlier reported that there were no Italians among those trapped in the hotel.

La Repubblica reported that Italian workers had found a shelter at a compound of oil and gas contractor Bonatti, which is located not far the Amarula hotel. They were later transported along with other foreign workers to a Total site, 15 kilometers from the town, and were put under armed protection.

In total, approximately 2,000 foreign workers fled Palma after the militant attack, Wachave of local women's rights association told Sputnik.

According to the activist, the foreigners are now in the capital of the volatile province of Cabo Delgado, Pemba, where victims are receiving humanitarian assistance. Many Palma residents are still hiding in forests.

The Palma town itself has been practically destroyed in the ambush and is suffering from food shortages, Wachave said.