Armed men kill militia member and burn down 30 houses in Muidumbe

Three armed men killed, on Wednesday afternoon, a militia member and set fire to 30 houses, in Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado province, several local sources said today.

"There were three men, all hooded, we suspect them to be terrorists, because when they entered [the village], they started shooting and hit a member of the local force, who died on the spot," said a source.

The victim was killed while on patrol as part of the fight against armed groups terrorizing districts of Cabo Delgado province since October 2017.

The attack happened in the community of Nova Familia, in the south of Muidumbe district, popular people said.

In addition to killing the member of the local force, as the militia that supports government forces in the war against rebels in Cabo Delgado is known, the insurgents burned 30 predominantly grass-based houses, another source reported.

A militiaman stated that security was tightened in the Nova Família community after the incursion of the armed men.

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

There are 748 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and 4000 deaths, according to the conflict registration project, ACLED.

Since July, an offensive by government troops with Rwandan support, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed the rebels to recover areas where they had been present, but their flight has provoked new attacks, in other districts used as passage or temporary refuge. (Lusa/RTP)

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