A mining company in northern Mozambique has been evacuated and operations suspended due to an armed attack in the vicinity, Gemfields, the British company that is the majority shareholder, announced today.

"Shortly before midnight on Sunday, an attack attributed to insurgents took place in the village of Nairoto, in the province of Cabo Delgado, in Mozambique," it said in a statement.

The village is approximately 15 kilometers southwest of the Nairoto Resources Limitada (NRL) mine, in which Gemfields holds 75%.

As a result, the NRL began the evacuation process, with the departure of "operational staff and contractors, so operations on site ceased", he described.

Gemfields has another participated mine in the area, which continues to work.

Nairoto is approximately 83 kilometers north of Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), where the British brand also owns 75%.

At Montepuez, "there is no impact on operations," the statement said.

"Gemfields, MRM and NRL consider the health and safety of their employees and contractors to be their highest priority and remain in regular contact with government authorities," the statement concluded.

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

The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near the gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in neighboring Nampula province.

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project. (Lusa)