Dozens of people are dead following an attack on the town of Palma in northern Mozambique, according to a spokesperson from the country’s defence department.
Seven were killed trying to escape a siege on a hotel, said Omar Saranga.
Hundreds of others, both locals and foreigners, were reportedly rescued.
The area has been under attack by Islamist militants since Wednesday. Witnesses have described hiding out while waiting to be rescued by boat, on a beach strewn with headless bodies.
Palma is near a major gas project run by the French energy giant Total, and more than 100 workers and civilians took refuge in the town’s Amarula Palma hotel.
Northern Mozambique has been torn apart by an insurgency since 2017.
Militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group are behind the conflict in the predominantly Muslim region of Cabo Delgado. The fighting has left more than 2,500 people dead and 700,000 displaced.
Marine traffic websites showed a string of vessels around the town, and the port of Pemba to the south, as people tried to escape by any means – cargo vessels, passenger ships, tugs and recreational boats.
Source:Fiilafm/BBC
