Islamic State-linked insurgents beheaded atleast six people and killed an Italian nun in Mozambique’s Nampula province, authorities said on Wednesday.
Speaking in the resort town of Xai Xai north of the capital Maputo, President Filipe Nyusi said the insurgents unleashed a killing spree as they fled from soldiers from Mozambique, Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) sent to tackle the violence, reported Reuters
The insurgency is mainly happening in Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado. The conflict claimed thousands of lives since started in 2017. It has also disrupted multibillion-dollar natural gas projects.
“On the 6th of September, as a result of terrorist attacks, six citizens were beheaded, three kidnapped, six terrorists were captured and dozens of houses torched in the districts of Erati and Memba, Nampula province,” Nyusi said.
An 83-year-old Italian nun, who lived in the city of Nacala, was shot in an attack on Tuesday night, while two other missionaries managed to escape, confirmed Nampula province Secretary of State Mety Gondola.
There were no further details released on the attack, but Gondola insisted the situation was worrisome.
The Portuguese News agency Lusa said the nun, who was shot in the head, belonged to the order of the Comboni Missionary Sisters and had been working in Mozambique since 1963.
