Islamic State-backed insurgents killed at least one person last Thursday during their first incursion into Nampula province since September 2022.
Insurgents crossed the Lúrio river from Cabo Delgado province into Nampula by boat on Thursday and attacked the villages of Mithoca, Nassua and Manica in the Odinepa administrative post of Eráti district. Islamic State (IS) claimed to have killed one person in Nassua and burned 190 homes.
IS also claimed to have burned a church, a school and 30 homes in Manica and to have clashed with Mozambican security forces in Mithoca.
Many in Odinepa and the surrounding area fled to the nearby town of Namapa, local sources told Zitamar News.
Panic also spread through the neighbouring district of Memba. Families have been seen leaving their homes on foot for the Memba district capital, carrying their possessions in bundles, according to local sources.
The administrator of Eráti, Manuel Manussa, reportedly told newspaper Ikweli on Friday that there had been no insurgent attacks in the area.
Before crossing into Nampula, insurgents pushed south through the Chiúre district of Cabo Delgado, where last week they beheaded one person in the village of Magaia and burned down the villages of Micolene and Nantavo. The International Organization for Migration reported that 16,366 people were displaced by insurgent attacks in Chiúre between 17 and 24 April.
This is the third time insurgents have successfully attacked Nampula. Their first crossing was in June 2022, followed by another incursion in September that year. Insurgents attempted another raid in February this year but were prevented by the Lúrio flooding.
