Two people lost their lives and another was kidnapped on Friday following an armed attack in the district of Macomia, in Cabo Delgado province, according to reports from fleeing people.

Cited by Lusa, one of the witnesses said that the authors of the attacks fired at residents of the farms in the villages of Nova Zambézia and Nguida, in the district of Macomia.

"They killed two people," at least, he mentioned, as he hid in Nguida woods and waited for the rest of his family to head to the village of Macomia.

The aggressors are burning houses, looting food, and attacking in the fields, which in these moments of torpor serve as hiding places for the population, he described.

Another resident fleeing to the village of Macomia said that rebels kidnapped his aunt in a "rice field" in Nguida, noting that the military is tracking the rebels, but it is not known whether the threat has been neutralized, so "the population is fleeing.

Before the conflict spread, Macomia was one of the province's main commercial and transport hubs, as it was situated halfway along the only paved road connecting the north and south of Cabo Delgado, the national road 380.

The district headquarters is about 200 kilometers south of Palma and Mocímboa da Praia, the area of the gas projects, reconquered with the support of Rwandan troops in July 2021.

As the Mozambican military offensive supported by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) progresses, it is suspected that the rebels are also fleeing to neighboring districts and provinces and carrying out scattered attacks.

The Mozambican authorities have asked the international community for support to finance the military effort in Cabo Delgado, considering that despite improvements in the control of the region over the last ten months, the fight against insurgent forces is not yet won.