A pregnant woman and two other people died on Sunday night as a result of another terrorist attack in the community of Mihecani, in the district of Ancuabe, south of Cabo Delgado. The terrorists also set fire to several houses causing several people who had been met by surprise to flee.

"They entered the village around 9pm and were praying as if they were Muslims. We even got suspicious, but it was already late," a resident of the village who managed to flee to the district headquarters of Ancuabe told Lusa.

This is the second terrorist attack on the Mihecani community in less than two weeks, according to reports from another source who sought refuge in the community of Sunate, 33 kilometers from the Ancuabe district headquarters.

"The population was convinced that they would not attack again because the Defense and Security Forces have intensified patrolling actions," said a source who fled in the rebels' first incursion.

The new attacks in the southern strip of the province began on June 5 and targeted hidden points in the district of Ancuabe, 100 kilometers from the provincial capital (Pemba), with the incursions also causing panic in some nearby districts, including Metuge, Mecufi and Chiure, according to information from the provincial government.

Rebel incursions in the south of the province have caused deaths in undetermined numbers and a new wave of about 17,000 displaced people, in addition to impacting economic activity in the region.

It is suspected that the actions recorded in different locations in Ancuabe district are triggered by rebels fleeing the military offensive that has been underway since July 2021, with international support, in the far north of Cabo Delgado (Palma, Mocímboa da Praia and Muidumbe districts), in the area of the gas projeCts.

On Sunday, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) announced the arrest of two people suspected of simulating new attacks in the Ancuabe district, warning of the record of cases of individuals simulating new raids to loot property.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas, but terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.