Terrorists associated with the Islamic State claim responsibility for the attack

Elements associated with the extremist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on Thursday on the Chiúre Velho police station in the southern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, using automatic weapons and stealing material from inside.

The claim, made through the propaganda channels of the Islamic State (IS), is documented with a video, in which the rebels, allegedly belonging to the Ahlu-Sunnah wal Jama`a (ASWJ) group, appear firing bursts of machine gun fire and enter the police station, claiming to have taken material, after burning a vehicle and “freeing Muslim prisoners”, with no known victims or injuries from this action.

Cabo Delgado Governor Valige Tauabo confirmed to Lusa on Friday that rebels had attacked the Chiúre district, forcing the population to evacuate, but security forces are restoring order.

“In Chiúre, there were some incursions, the forces on site were on standby, but the attack still happened,” said Valige Tauabo.

"Order must be restored, and the population in some villages has had to flee to safe areas. But there is protection from the government and the Defense and Security Forces," assured the governor of Cabo Delgado province.

Residents of two towns in the Chiúre district of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, reported to Lusa on Thursday new attacks by alleged rebel groups, causing the population to flee.

"This is wrong, the terrorists are attacking," a source told Lusa from the main town of Chiúre, after fleeing on foot following the alleged attacks in the communities of Chiúre Velho and Mazeze.

Chiúre district administrator Oliveira Amimo said rebel groups attacked two locations Thursday morning but were repelled by defense forces, ensuring the district headquarters was not occupied.

"The terrorists have already been repelled by the Mozambican Defense Forces. They are no longer in the district," said the Chiúre district administrator, adding that during the attacks, rebel groups burned homes and the local police headquarters, but did not occupy the Chiúre district headquarters.

"Practically all [of the villages] were affected. We're talking about hundreds of families," the administrator said.

Located about 140 kilometers from the city of Pemba, the provincial capital, Chiúre is one of the districts targeted by the rebels.

The gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion since 2017, resulting in thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis, with more than a million people displaced.

At least 349 people died in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in northern Mozambique in 2024, a 36% increase compared to the previous year, according to a study released in February by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS).

According to the academic institution of the US Department of Defense, which studies security issues in Africa, this "recovery of violence levels" in Mozambique "reflects the strategy" of the ASWJ group — an ISIS affiliate operating in Cabo Delgado province — of "expanding the conflict, moving inland and into more rural areas."