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At least two Mozambican security personnel were killed on Tuesday morning in an insurgent assault in the northern Cabo Delgado province, conflict monitoring group ACLED reported to AFP on Wednesday.
The attack, carried out by Islamic State-linked insurgents, targeted a vehicle of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), reportedly while it was escorting a convoy.
ACLED analyst Peter Bofin confirmed that “at least two UIR officers” were killed.
A military officer, speaking anonymously, suggested that four of the 12 troops in the vehicle died, with the remainder wounded but managing to escape.
The incident occurred in the Muidumbe district, between the villages of Chitunda and Awasse, along a key road linking the northern cities of Macomia and Mocimboa da Praia.
The Mozambique military, which has been supported by Rwandan forces since mid-2021 in its fight against the insurgency, rarely provides comments on such attacks.
Cabo Delgado has been plagued by an Islamist insurgency since October 2017, which has escalated in recent months.
The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) reported 519 insurgent attacks in northern Mozambique since January 2025, the highest number since the conflict began.
The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also noted a marked rise in kidnappings, killings, and improvised explosive device incidents, warning that 2025 could surpass previous peaks in violence.
Cabo Delgado, a Muslim-majority province, remains one of Mozambique’s poorest regions despite housing significant natural gas reserves.
A multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas project operated by French energy company TotalEnergies has been stalled since a March 2021 insurgent attack on Palma that killed more than 800 people, including project subcontractors.
ACLED estimates that the ongoing insurgency has claimed over 6,200 lives in the past eight years.
