Aftermath of a jihadist attack on Naunde, a village in northern Mozambique, last June. Around 200 people have died since the Islamists launched their insurgency in October 2017. Picture: AFP / Joaquim Nhamirre
Four people were wounded when a convoy operated by US gas giant Anadarko came under attack in northern Mozambique, an area which has been rocked by a spate of jihadist violence, the company said today.
The convoy was targeted Thursday on a road linking Mocimboa da Praia to Afungi bay in Palma, the nerve centre of Mozambique’s nascent gas industry following the discovery of huge reserves.
Armed men blocked the road and attacked the convoy with firearms, company sources told AFP, with local media suggesting more than a dozen attackers were involved.
Anadarko said in a statement that it had “received information that a convoy was attacked on the road from Mocimboa da Praia to Afungi at approximately 5pm (1500 GMT)”.
“Four people are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries,” it said, without identifying the victims, but adding that “work is under way to account for all personnel”.
“We are still working to gather information and are actively monitoring the situation.”
Anadarko is one of the global companies investing billions of dollars to exploit major gas reserves discovered off Mozambique’s northeastern coast.
Anadarko last month advertised in the local media for the supply of armoured vehicles for use in its northern Mozambique operations.
In the statement, Anadarko said it is “in close contact with government authorities to ensure appropriate measures are in place to protect our workforce”.
Anadarko early last year temporarily evacuated workers from the area and halted operations after the US embassy in Maputo issued an alert warning of imminent attacks.
Hardline Islamists have launched several deadly attacks in the Muslim-majority, oil and gas-rich Cabo Delgado province in the past year, stoking unrest just as Maputo pushes ahead with exploration efforts.
The Islamist fighters — reportedly seeking to impose Sharia law in the Muslim-majority province — have since October 2017 terrorised remote communities in the gas-rich region, killing about 200 people and forcing thousands from their homes.
The Islamists belong to a group originally known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama — Arabic for “followers of the prophet” — but commonly referred to by locals and officials as “Al-Shabaab”, although it has no known link to the notorious Somali jihadist group of the same name.
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