ORAC
26th Mar 2021, 09:06
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jihadists-attack-airport-and-town-near-big-gas-project-in-mozambique-lwr5gmvwd
Jihadists attack airport and town near big gas project in Mozambique
Militants aligned with Islamic State are battling state security forces for control of a strategic town in northern Mozambique serving a multibillion-pound international gas project.
Last night plans were under way to evacuate 190 expatriates from their beachside hotel by boat after jihadists (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/green-berets-are-sent-to-quell-isis-surge-in-mozambique-tnqwsdl6d) launched a surprise three-pronged assault on Palma in a brazen show of might, sending residents running into nearby forests.
The attacks came hours after the oil and gas giant Total announced it was confident enough about new security arrangements to resume work on the project, a few miles outside of the town.
Executives had said in a statement they had been persuaded to bring back staff after the government declared a special security area within a 2.5-mile radius of the site. The French company suspended its operations and evacuated hundreds of personnel in January as insurgent attacks came close to their site.
Sources in Palma, 30 miles from Mozambique’s border with Tanzania (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tanzania-president-john-magufuli-dead-after-weeks-of-rumours-8tzj520lc), said that pro-government forces would now struggle to expel 100 or so rebels who had overrun much of the town. The situation poses the biggest threat yet to contracts worth $60 billion in Africa’s biggest gas project. The British government has backed the development with a £1 billion loan.
Omar Saranga, from the ministry of defence, said defence and security forces were working tirelessly to re-establish order. In their assault, the extremists targeted the airport and other strategic sites, using what military witnesses said were “new weapons that we have never seen before”.
Planes attempting to land at the airport near Palma were forced to abort due to “heavy weapons attack” as militants plundered banks and hotels and attacked a police station. The Amarula Hotel, which is popular with expat contractors was also targeted, according to multiple accounts triggering a daring evacuation plan to spirit them 132 miles south by boat to Pemba. The number of casualties is not known.
The insurgency in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cabo-delgado-britain-must-lead-new-fight-with-isis-in-africa-says-top-mercenary-z5st8cwbq) erupted in 2017 and since then more than 2,600 people, most of them civilians, have been killed.
Jihadists attack airport and town near big gas project in Mozambique
Militants aligned with Islamic State are battling state security forces for control of a strategic town in northern Mozambique serving a multibillion-pound international gas project.
Last night plans were under way to evacuate 190 expatriates from their beachside hotel by boat after jihadists (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/green-berets-are-sent-to-quell-isis-surge-in-mozambique-tnqwsdl6d) launched a surprise three-pronged assault on Palma in a brazen show of might, sending residents running into nearby forests.
The attacks came hours after the oil and gas giant Total announced it was confident enough about new security arrangements to resume work on the project, a few miles outside of the town.
Executives had said in a statement they had been persuaded to bring back staff after the government declared a special security area within a 2.5-mile radius of the site. The French company suspended its operations and evacuated hundreds of personnel in January as insurgent attacks came close to their site.
Sources in Palma, 30 miles from Mozambique’s border with Tanzania (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tanzania-president-john-magufuli-dead-after-weeks-of-rumours-8tzj520lc), said that pro-government forces would now struggle to expel 100 or so rebels who had overrun much of the town. The situation poses the biggest threat yet to contracts worth $60 billion in Africa’s biggest gas project. The British government has backed the development with a £1 billion loan.
Omar Saranga, from the ministry of defence, said defence and security forces were working tirelessly to re-establish order. In their assault, the extremists targeted the airport and other strategic sites, using what military witnesses said were “new weapons that we have never seen before”.
Planes attempting to land at the airport near Palma were forced to abort due to “heavy weapons attack” as militants plundered banks and hotels and attacked a police station. The Amarula Hotel, which is popular with expat contractors was also targeted, according to multiple accounts triggering a daring evacuation plan to spirit them 132 miles south by boat to Pemba. The number of casualties is not known.
The insurgency in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cabo-delgado-britain-must-lead-new-fight-with-isis-in-africa-says-top-mercenary-z5st8cwbq) erupted in 2017 and since then more than 2,600 people, most of them civilians, have been killed.