Date of Incident: 01 JANUARY 2021
Time of Incident: 22:00
Location of Incident: Quitupe Village, Afungi Peninsula, Palma District
Proximity to Pemba – 230km
At 22:00 on the evening of 01 December 2021, in the village of Quitupo inside the DUAT (close to the Airport), a brief exchange of fire between members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and 2 x insurgents that were hiding in one of the houses, occurred. This was the result of information of the possible presence of the insurgents in one of the houses, prompting members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) to investigate.
The insurgents opened fire and was subsequently killed by JTF returning fire. No properties were destroyed.
Earlier the JTF succeeded in stabilizing the security situation around Afungi as clashes with insurgents occurred on 30 / 31 December 2020 and during 01 January 2021 in the Monjane and Mondlane villages. 40 houses were destroyed in Mondlane village and the insurgents were forced to withdraw from the area late on 31 Dec 20 due to effective counterinsurgency operations by the JTF. Several insurgents were killed in the skirmishes. Following the withdrawal of the insurgents, a note was left behind stating that Palma would be attacked on 05 January 2021, advising the population to leave the area.
Meanwhile, due to the deteriorating security situation, a decision was taken by Total to evacuate several of their employees from the LNG Project at Afungi and during the day on 01 January 2021, about 500 x Total personnel were evacuated from the Afungi LNG site to Pemba. Several local employees were also requested to remain at home in Palma until further notice. The subcontractors linked to the LNG project were handed the discretionary mandate to decide whether they want to evacuate or not.
COMMENT: The incident at Quitupo village inside the DUAT and very close to the Afungi Airport and Camp Pioneer, is of major concern and could have grave implications for the LNG Project. The presence of insurgents close to the airfield and Camp Pioneer is very worrying as it could impact on aircraft landing at the airfield. Despite this security concern, it is likely that the remaining Total employees in Afungi would be evacuated to Pemba over the weekend. The insurgents would probably take advantage of the current security situation by maintaining pressure on the Afungi Peninsula. It is also likely that the Government would reinforce the JTF and would try to pacify the Oil Companies not to completely withdraw. The insurgents are, as expected, concentrating, attacks in the Palma district, in a clear effort to prevent the GSF to commence with a planned offensive to recapture MdP.
(Recebido por email)
