Five killed in terrorist attack in northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province

By Jamal Jamal

LILONGWE, Malawi (AA) - At least five people were killed and several others seriously injured in a terrorist attack in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, police said Wednesday, blaming the assault on the armed paramilitary group known as Naprama.

Orlando Mudumane, spokesperson for the Police Republic of Mozambique, told reporters that Naprama fighters stormed the village of Ntotue in Mocimboa da Prala district and opened fire on civilians.

"At the time of our arrival in the village we discovered that at least five people had been killed while others were severely injured and many had fled away. Fighting ensued between the paramilitary grouping and the police to diffuse the situation,” Mudumane said.

Naprama, originally formed during Mozambique’s 16-year civil war in the 1980s often operates as a community-based militia. It has recently reemerged, with police linking the group to a series of violent incidents.

In February, authorities reported that four alleged Naprama members were killed in clashes with police while attempting to storm an administrative post in Zambezia Province. On Jan. 2, members of the group reportedly beheaded a local official in Murrumbala district and placed his head in a public square.

The district of Mocimboa da Prala remains one of the hardest-hit areas in Cabo Delgado, which has been plagued by extremist violence since 2017. The insurgency has displaced more than 10,000 people.