[imagesource: Sky News]

It’s been almost two weeks since insurgents from a local Islamist organisation called Allu Sunna wa Jama, or al-Shabaab, or ISIS-Mozambique (known locally as al-Shabaab), infiltrated the northern town of Palma and began to mercilessly attack residents, workers, and business owners.

Tales of heroic rescues, both from the air and from the ocean, are impressive, but hundreds of innocent civilians have lost their lives, and many of those who managed to make it out alive have harrowing stories to tell.

Thankfully, Mozambique’s military says it has regained territory in Palma, and claims that a “significant” number of militants had since been killed.

On Sunday, Commander Chongo Vidigal, leader of military operations, said they had retaken the airfield area, which allowed for additional forces, as well as journalists, to touch down.

Vidigal also said that the area is “under 100 percent control by Mozambican authorities”, although that claim has been refuted by some experts.

Here’s eNCA:

“There might be pockets that are safe but they are definitely not in control,” Willem Els, senior training coordinator at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, told AFP.

“Insurgents are still roaming around,” he cautioned, citing sources on the ground. “The only enclave that is really secure at the moment is the area around Afungi.”

…DAG founder Lionel Dyck confirmed their involvement ends on Tuesday.

“God help the people,” he told AFP via WhatsApp on Monday, adding that it was “unlikely” soldiers had retaken Palma.

It appears there is still a battle to be fought, but for the first time since the insurgents stormed the town, journalists have been able to film footage of the area.

This, from Sky News, shows some of the devastation from above:

Once they touched down, Sky correspondents relayed what they saw:

Our team saw bodies still lying in the street and multiple shops, offices and homes, as well as a hospital that had been vandalised and set alight.

The mobile phone mast had been destroyed and power lines pulled down…

Residents told us they were shooting indiscriminately and wielded machetes, with several witnesses telling us they carried out beheadings.

The streets were littered with spent bullet cartridges.

Below, Sky’s special correspondent Alex Crawford takes a walk through the streets, and speaks with residents who survived the attack:

[sources:enca&sky]