Witnesses reported seeing bodies on the street after the insurgents – believed to be linked to the Islamic State terror group – attacked Palma from three directions, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.
The city is close to a large liquefied natural gas project from the French company Total. The attack came hours after the Mozambican government and Total announced a resumption of operations on the massive Afungi project – north of Palma – where work had been suspended since January following a series of insurgent attacks.
Thursday’s video obtained by CNN shows helicopters – flown by government-deployed military contractors – passing a hotel lodge in an apparent attempt to secure an escape corridor for dozens of people who had fled there when the attack unfolded.
At least 20 of the people featured in the hotel complex video were found to be foreign workers.
In another video, obtained by a CNN, a Mozambican who was also detained at the hotel in Palma described the situation as “critical”, saying “we have no food, we only have water.”
In the video recorded Thursday, he said: “We have been under attack since yesterday … We have been under attack for 24 hours.
“We don’t know how we’re going to get out of here. We’re going to be evacuated, but we don’t know when, what time, how and by whom,” he added.
“The helicopters are circling around the Amarula Hotel area to make sure the roads are clear to get to the beach, but as you can hear we don’t know if this will be possible. The situation is critical. we don’t. have food. we only have water. “Helicopters could be heard in the background as he spoke.
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that one of its nationals has been injured in a rescue operation out of the region, Portuguese news agency LUSA reported on Saturday.
A journalist who worked with CNN in Mozambique said at least some of the detainees were able to reach the city of Pemba on Friday.
Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said the militants “had shot at civilians in their homes and streets in Palma while trying to flee for their lives.”
HRW said it reached several citizens by phone before it lost communication with the city on Thursday.
It quoted a witness who said, “People were running and shouting ‘Al-Shabaab is here … It’s Al-Shabaab … They’re killing everyone.”
The insurgents are known locally as “Shabaab” but have no affiliation with the Somali group of the same name. The group’s full name is Ahl al-Sunnah wa al Jamma’ah (ASWJ), and it formally joined the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed Central Africa province last year. Earlier this month, the US called the group a terrorist organization called “ISIS-Mozambique”.
Two hotel employees told HRW that gunmen had fired on people and buildings, including the hotel.
An audio recording CNN received from someone at the hotel on Thursday also featured heavy gunfire.
Mozambique’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that an army operation was underway to restore security in Palma, but has not provided any further updates.
It is not known whether the insurgents still control the city. On Friday, a high security source with direct knowledge of the events told CNN that the militants in Mozambique were likely still active in the area.
The source said the fierce fighting between the insurgents and Mozambican armed forces and police lasted hours, with private contractors providing helicopter flights to drive the insurgents from the center of the city.
The insurgents attacked military and police installations and robbed and set fire to two banks in the city on Wednesday night, the source said.
“Meticulous planning” by insurgents
Jasmine Opperman, a security analyst who writes a weekly review of events in Cabo Delgado, said the attack had demonstrated “meticulous planning” by the insurgents.
Even before the attack on Palma, the city was inaccessible by road due to the insecurity along the route to the south, leading to food shortages in the area.
Alexandre Raymakers, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, told CNN that the attack on Palma was a “major setback to the government, especially after Total’s announcement, and their ability to secure LNG projects vital to seriously questions the country’s long-term financial prosperity. “
Raymakers said that “Total’s decision to resume construction was contingent on Maputo guaranteeing a 25 km security perimeter around the Afungi Peninsula, which would include Palma.”
In August last year, ASWJ carried out a large-scale attack on the port of Mocimboa da Praia and continues to occupy the area despite government efforts to recapture it.
ASWJ has rendered much of Mozambique’s northernmost province, Cabo Delgado, inaccessible and insecure as the attacks have increased in scope and sophistication since 2017.
Raymakers says that “ASWJ’s ability to wage war, command and control, and overall confidence has grown tremendously over the past year.”
Fighting between the group and government forces has killed more than 1,500 civilians and displaced more than 600,000, according to HRW.
Tim Lister reported from Spain, Estacio Valoi reported from Maputo, Mozambique and Isa Soares reported from London. David McKenzie contributed to the reporting.