Days of fighting in a key city in Mozambique's north have left dozens of civilians dead as security forces battled to turn back an assault by suspected Islamic State-linked insurgents.
Hundreds of militants last week attacked Palma, a northern coastal city in Cabo Delgado province that acts as a hub for a vast liquefied natural gas project worth tens of billions of dollars. The project, scheduled for completion in 2024, is led by the French energy group Total, and includes industry partners from India, Japan, Mozambique and Thailand.
At one point in last week's fighting, as many as 200 foreign workers were reportedly trapped between security forces and the insurgent group. Hundreds of people were being evacuated by boat to the port city of Pemba, about 150 miles south, a diplomat and an aid worker told Reuters.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the assault, and the government has not identified the assailants by name or group. However, the attackers are widely believed to be from a group that locals refer to as al-Shabab, although the insurgents don't appear to have any direct link to the Somalia group of the same name.
