One person died and 63 houses were burned in the village of Iba, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, in an attack attributed to the group of alleged terrorists operating in that region, a source from the paramilitary force reported this Saturday, March 22, 2025.

A source from the Local Force, the paramilitary forces supporting the Armed Forces in the fight against terrorists in Cabo Delgado, explained that the attack, now reported, took place about 33 kilometers from Meluco, when the rebels opened fire on the village, fatally shooting a 42-year-old man.

“They burned 63 houses and killed one man.”

The Local Force paramilitary confirmed from Meluco. After the attack, the insurgents settled in the forests between Pitolha and Mariria, in the Meluco district, before departing via the Montepuez River.

“They stayed there in the middle for almost three days. Then, yesterday [Friday], there was unrest (…) They wanted to cross to the opposite bank,” he concluded.

Since October 2017, gas-rich Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion that has left thousands dead and 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, a 36% increase over the previous year, according to data recently released by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Department of Defense that analyzes conflicts in Africa.

The last major attack took place on May 10 and 11, on the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred rebels looting the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces and Rwandan military personnel supporting Mozambique in combating the armed attacks.