Maputo, April 29, 2025 (Lusa) - The US government has warned of terrorist group movements in the Niassa Special Reserve (REN), a province neighbouring Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, advising its citizens to reconsider travel to the region.
"The US Government has received information that terrorists have attacked villages on the edge of the Niassa Special Reserve before entering the reserve and taking hostages in a private hunting lodge. Mozambican security forces are engaged. Be alert to increased violence on the south-eastern and eastern borders of the Niassa Special Reserve," reads a note addressed to US citizens in Mozambique, published on the US embassy website.
Given the insecurity in the region, the United States suggests that travel to the Niassa Reserve, neighbouring villages and hunting estates be reconsidered, personal security plans be reviewed, local media be monitored for updates on changing conditions, and that travellers enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates.
At issue are alleged incursions by armed groups on Thursday in the Niassa Ecological Reserve, an area of 42,000 square kilometres in eight districts covering Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique.
Information circulating on social media indicates that the group, whose numbers are still unknown, entered a village in the reserve, causing panic among residents.
Mozambique's defence minister acknowledged on Friday the existence of terrorist groups in the Niassa Special Reserve (REN), which borders Cabo Delgado, a region that has been facing an armed insurgency since 2017.
"We are aware [...] They are terrorists and we are after them," said Cristóvão Chume, on the sidelines of a ceremony to accredit defence attachés from several countries in Maputo.
In a statement released on Thursday, the US said it continues to monitor the situation and reiterated its commitment to working with Mozambique to combat armed violence in the north of the country.
The gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion since 2017, which has left thousands dead and caused a humanitarian crisis with more than a million people displaced.
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in the province, an increase of 36% over the previous year, according to data recently released by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Department of Defence that analyses conflicts in Africa.
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