Fresh Attacks On Palma, Mozambique As Total Plans To Return To LNG Project

Fighters attacked a town near where a $20bn liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is planned in northern Mozambique, days after oil giant Total said it was preparing to return to the area.

Joe Hanlon, a Mozambique-focused academic, said that coordinated attacks by several groups on suburbs and a nearby village and the ensuing fighting blocked the road from Palma to Afungi. He wrote:

There were coordinated attacks by several groups, which hit suburbs and a nearby village. Fighting blocked the road from Palma to Afungi. Palma is just 6km from the airstrip and main gate of the Afungi [LNG] construction site.

Initial reports are that insurgents first attacked the police station on the coastal side of Palma, and then moved into the town and the business park, where they reportedly robbed the BIM and Standard banks.

Fighting was also reported near the Amarula Hotel on the northern side of the town. There are both army and police bases in Palma and there has been fighting.

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The attacks come just as Total announces it was ready to re-engage with the project, having pulled out when militants attacked on 31 December 2020.

Since 2017, an armed insurgency has been targeting Cabo Delgado Province, where most of the major gas discoveries have been made in recent years.

The insurgency is led by Ansar al-Sunna – also known as Al-Shabaab – a group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019 and who is increasing attacks in this predominantly Muslim and impoverished region.

More: The African Report