Dozens of people have been killed in an attack on the northern Mozambique town of Palma this week, a spokesman for the country’s defence and security forces says, including seven people when a convoy of cars was ambushed in an escape attempt. Hundreds of other people, both local and foreigners, have been rescued from the town next to gas projects, Omar Saranga told journalists on Sunday.

A British contractor was among the dead, killed when suspected Islamist insurgents attacked his hotel compound, The Times reported. Hundreds of people fleeing the attack are arriving by boat in the port city of Pemba, a diplomat and an aid worker said. Militants struck Palma, a logistics hub for international gas projects worth $A79 billion, on Wednesday.

The government has yet to re-establish control, the diplomat and a security source directly involved in the operations to secure Palma said. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts as most communications with Palma were cut on Wednesday. Calls to officials at the foreign ministry and provincial government went unanswered or did not go through on Sunday.

The government has said it is working to restore order in Palma. The boats arriving in Pemba on Sunday carried both locals and foreigners, including employees from the gas projects, the aid official and diplomat said. One boat was carrying about 1300 people, the diplomat said.

French energy group Total said on Saturday it was calling off a planned resumption of construction at its $US20 billion development following the attack and would reduce its workforce to a “strict minimum”.
The company pulled out the majority of its workforce in January due to insecurity in Cabo Delgado province, which has been the target of an Islamist insurgency since 2017.