[imagesource: The Daily Maverick]

Since the attack on the Mozambican town of Palma on Wednesday, tragic stories have emerged of residents and workers in the area being murdered by insurgents from a local Islamist organisation called Allu Sunna wa Jama or al-Shabaab, or ISIS-Mozambique (known locally as al-Shabaab).

The group has affiliated itself to the global Islamic State terror group, and thus far at least one South African, Adrian Nel, is confirmed dead.

Earlier this month, a dozen US Army Green Beret special forces arrived in the country, tasked with training Mozambican marines in a two-month programme, and they will have their work cut out for them.

According to terrorism experts who spoke with TimesLIVE, there were reports of “the massacre of people unable to flee, with fighters going from house to house beheading and shooting terrified inhabitants”.

Palma has a population of around 60 000, which includes thousands of expats who live and work in the area.

Nel was part of a 17-car convoy that attempted to flee the town, but was ambushed by insurgents, with only seven vehicles making it through, and an estimated 40 people killed and others taken hostage.

Amidst the tragedy, there have been stories of heroism:

Deep-sea fishing charters, a tugboat, cargo ships, oil tankers, sea ferries and yachts have been used to pluck civilians off beaches and coastal islands…

The maritime rescue has been described on social media as a “Dunkirk moment”, which saw vessels sailing hundreds of kilometres out to sea, changing course to answer calls for help…

Security analyst Johann Smith, who is based in Mozambique, said the saving of lives had been left to DAG [Dyck Advisory Group] and civilian sailors.

“A handful of sailors and fishermen braved RPG and heavy machine gun fire from rebels surrounding the beaches to get thousands of people to safety.

The Dyck Advisory Group had previously been criticised in a report by Amnesty International, titled ‘What I Saw Is Death’: War Crimes in Mozambique’s Forgotten Cape, for “indiscriminate helicopter attacks” and the killing of innocent civilians.

A month later, and the company’s actions may have saved thousands of lives, along with some incredibly brave ship captains, according to Smith:

“Because the big vessels could not get close to shore, fishing vessels, dinghies and speedboats had to sail onto the beach. Not once or twice, but dozens of times.

“The rebels were shooting at the boats. These guys, like the helicopter pilots, were constantly under fire. Every time they came close to shore they would take heavy fire.”

“What we have seen here is nothing short of a miracle. Large container ships diverted to come and help. A tugboat and a dredger responded. None of these are armed, yet they came to help.”

Hundreds of people are still missing, and it may take weeks (or longer) before the full extent of the death toll is understood.

As things stand, 43 South Africans are “accounted for”, according to the SA High Commission in Maputo, but Smith says at least 25 South Africans are still unaccounted for.

This thread offers a superb look at the rescue efforts that have unfolded over the past few days:

In #mozambique 🇲🇿 A modern day #dunkirk moment is happen in the besieged by isis(iswap) city of #palma at this moment.

Ships and boats of all types small and big, oil tankers and ferry’s too tug boats and small pleasure craft are taking people to safety ricking them selves. 1/? pic.twitter.com/2agjNPLk3x

— Quinn (@nemo321mc) March 27, 2021

For many, those efforts were too late.

Jasmine Opperman, an analyst with the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, says an estimate of 400 deaths is “conservative”, with the attack sophisticated and barbaric:

“When they ran out of ammunition they brought in more insurgents with ammunition. How the battle was carried out, it’s clear the fighters received training in guerrilla warfare.

“The insurgents have crossed a bridge with their target selection. As well as Mozambicans, they targeted expats, contractors and foreign nationals. For five days they have been hunting down people. They are in complete control.”

DAG CEO Max Dyck said rescue efforts are still ongoing, and thousands remain trapped as insurgents continue to run rampant.

The full TimesLIVE report discusses more on the ongoing rescue efforts here.

Finally, via The Times, here’s a summary of  the methodology used by the insurgents, labelled ‘five days of terror’:

[sources:timeslive&times]