JOHANNESBURG

Mozambique’s president said Wednesday that his troops have expelled the Daesh/ISIS militants who had overrun the coastal town of Palma on March 24, local media reported.

“The terrorists have been expelled from Palma. We do not intend to proclaim victory, because we are aware that we are fighting against terrorism, in a war without barracks [visible enemy],” Portuguese language local publication Jornal Domingo quoted President Filipe Nyusi as saying.

An armed militant group believed to be affiliated with the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group attacked the coastal town of Palma in Cabo Delgado province near the border with Tanzania late March, killing dozens and injuring scores of others.

Addressing the nation on the occasion of Mozambique’s Women’s Day, Nyusi pledged to offer amnesty to those who have joined the ranks of the militant group.

“To those who have lost their way and joined the terrorists, we appeal to them to return. We are ready to receive them and to reintegrate them back into society,” he said.

The Mozambican leader also sought international support in the fight against terrorism.

The armed group, locally known as al-Shabaab but with no established links to the armed militant group in Somalia, has wreaked havoc in northern Mozambique since late 2017, killing hundreds, displacing communities, and capturing towns.

The northern province of Mozambique is rich in natural gas, and companies such as France’s Total SE are to extract liquefied natural gas (LNG) from offshore sites in the Indian Ocean, but experts say such attacks could derail the project.

Investments by Total and others are estimated at $23 billion, one of the largest investments on the continent.