The President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, yesterday expressed "his solidarity with the brotherly people of Mozambique," following an armed attack on a Catholic mission in the north of the country on Tuesday.

"The President of the Republic expresses his solidarity with the people of Mozambique, at a time when yet another terrorist attack has caused innocent victims in the north of the country, hoping that peace may quickly return to that important region," reads the Presidency website quoted by Lusa.

A source from the congregation of the Comboni Sisters in Italy announced today that an Italian nun was killed during an attack on the Catholic mission in Chipende, in the far north of the area that is part of the Diocese of Nacala.

This is an area near the Lúrio River, the natural border between the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.

Portugal is leading the European Union's training mission in Mozambique, which since the end of 2021 has been preparing rapid reaction units of the Mozambican Armed Defense Forces to fight in Cabo Delgado.

The mission has 119 members from 12 countries, Portugal being the country with the largest contingent, which is currently 68 soldiers from the three branches of the armed forces and the GNR.

The attack on Chipende came two days before the arrival in Maputo of Josep Borrell, head of European Union (EU) diplomacy, this Thursday for a two-day visit.

Borrell will meet with the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, and deliver (non-warlike) equipment to support the fighting in Cabo Delgado, north of the country.

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

The insurgency has led to a military response since a year ago by forces from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but leading to a new wave of attacks in other areas, closer to Pemba, the provincial capital, and in Nampula province.

There are about 800,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.