• Africa At least 180 people trapped in a hotel in Mozambique by a jihadist attack

A Spanish citizen is among the foreigners trapped in the Mozambican city of Palma (north), besieged since last Wednesday by alleged Al Shabab terrorists, but

managed to escape and is now "safe,"

official sources confirmed today to Efe.

"There was a Spanish citizen in Palma, who managed to flee the city. Currently, he is safe in the city of Pemba and

assisted at all times by the Spanish embassy in Maputo

and our Honorary Consul in Pemba," sources detailed to Efe. of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

"Since the attacks began on Wednesday 24, the Embassy of Spain has been at all times informed of the evolution of the situation and monitoring the state in which the Spanish citizen was, keeping his family informed and taking the pertinent steps to ensure their transfer to Pemba, "added the sources.

At the moment,

no more details have been made public about the identity or what happened to this citizen

, while the jihadist siege on Palma - a town very close to millionaire gas extraction projects (one of the main ones, of the French oil company Total ) - continues today for the fourth day.

Military sources confirmed to Efe this Saturday

the death of at least seven people since the beginning of the attacks

, but the real dimension of what is happening in Palma is still unknown, since the Mozambican security forces have not yet managed to regain control of the city.

Many foreigners work in the area for gas projects on the Afungi peninsula, located a few kilometers from Palma, many of whom had taken refuge in a hotel establishment in the city, the Hotel Amarula.

It is estimated

that there were a total of 170 civilians trapped there

.

After unsuccessful rescue attempts with the support of helicopters, at least one part tried to escape in cars on Friday afternoon, but was ambushed by terrorists, with a still undetermined death toll.

Around a hundred people survived and managed to reach the coast

, covered by the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces, and took refuge in the fortified facilities of the Total oil company.

Despite the little information that is known, local media advance that there could be dozens dead, beheaded or assassinated by firearms in the streets of Palma, and that the city is being destroyed by terrorists.

This attack came after last Tuesday, the Government of Mozambican President

Filipe Nyusi

and Total, the company that leads the Mozambique LNG Project to build a natural gas liquefying plant in the area, announced that "they will soon resume operations. construction activities in Afungi with the implementation of additional security measures. "

Projects in the gas-rich area are constantly held back by the bloody and growing operations of Al Shabab.

This formation, which is not related to the homonymous jihadist group from Somalia, has terrorized northern Mozambique since 2017 and has caused, to date,

thousands of deaths and almost 700,000 displaced citizens

.

The humanitarian crisis in Mozambique is on the rise as jihadists

burn entire villages, behead people, including minors

, and commit other crimes, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on the 22nd. The United States recently designated Al Shabab as an "international terrorist organization" affiliated with the Islamic State.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

    Conflict: Five Lessons Learned from a Dark Decade in Syria

    Iraq Pope Francis concludes his historic visit to Iraq with a massive mass in Erbil

    Middle EastThe Pope pays tribute in Iraq to the Yazidis massacred by the Islamic State

    See links of interest

    • Work calendar

    • Olympiacos Piraeus - Fenerbahce Istanbul

    • Barça - Alba Berlin

    • Castellón - Espanyol

    • Rayo Vallecano - Mirandés

    • Real Oviedo - Ponferradina