Armed attack on Queiroz's camp in Mozambique: reports of fatalities

The camp burned down completely

Rebels stormed a hunting camp in northern Mozambique this week, forcing the evacuation of at least three Americans. The camp, which sits inside a wildlife reserve, is part-owned by Portuguese coach of Ghana's national team, Carlos Queiroz. Suspicion has fallen on an armed group behind the raid.

According to the Reuters agency, a source said the attackers burned the camp to the ground. The three Americans had been on a hunting trip. Staff fled the site before the Mozambican army moved in to confront the attackers.

Reports of fatalities

"Zitamar News", an independent English-language digital news platform in Mozambique, broke the story late on Thursday evening, reporting that a number of people had been killed.

Regional analyst Tertius Jacobs said he believes the rebels abducted a number of civilians. None of these reports could be verified.

Mozambique has battled a rebellion linked to the "Islamic State" since 2017 in the gas-rich northern province of "Cabo Delgado". The conflict has claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.

A spokesperson for the US State Department confirmed the US embassy in Mozambique is aware of an attack on a hunting lodge near the private Niassa reserve, on the outskirts of Cabo Delgado province, one of the largest protected wildlife areas in Africa. The spokesperson did not confirm whether any American had been harmed.