Two bodies thought to have been victims of recent clashes with rebels in a village in the Muidumbe district of Cabo Delgado have been discovered by residents, the authorities announced today.

"They're unknown people and they've been buried," said a 44-year-old man, anonymously, who was part of a group of residents in the lower Muidumbe district who made the discovery when they went to the village of Mandela.

According to the source quoted by Lusa, the location is a village that still needs the defense and security forces "because there are signs of violence".

According to reports from the population, some of the residents have fled and are camping in other areas (Nanhala, Chapa and Chudi) in the neighboring district of Mueda, which has welcomed displaced people since the beginning of the conflict because it is safe.

Meanwhile, to the south, in Macomia, another district also plagued by the armed insurgency, the population announced today the discovery of makeshift graves in the middle of the bush, with the bodies of three people who had been missing since the beginning of May, including a 7-year-old child.

The victims were part of a group from the Chitoio community, in the Chai administrative post, who had gone out into the bush in search of food, a local source said.

"There were seven residents and they were surprised halfway through by an armed group, but only four managed to return to the village," the sources said, stressing that after what happened, the militia reinforced its presence and recommended that everyone return home by 5pm, the time of sunset, because "from then on the village is under the control of the local force".

The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for five years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.