Alleged insurgents launched an attack on a gemstone mine in the Ravia locality, situated in the Meluco district of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, this past Sunday.
According to an official source, the militants confronted artisanal miners at the site, demanding cash payments from the workers to spare their lives. While there were no reported fatalities or injuries, the presence of the armed group triggered a chaotic evacuation, forcing the miners to flee toward the district headquarters of Meluco.
Some workers have since attempted to return, while others remain in the nearby bush, waiting to confirm that the militants have fully vacated the area.
During the incursion, the rebels seized control of the site and confiscated a motorized sand transport vehicle. The group utilized the vehicle to haul away piles of mineral-rich soil that had been extracted by the miners, transporting the illicit haul to an unknown destination.
Read more about this topic: Mozambique: locals report movement of terrorists in Cabo Delgado
This incident is not an isolated occurrence for the Ravia mines, which have repeatedly been targeted by militants seeking to exploit the region’s precious stones for their own gain.
The attack mirrors a 2025 incursion in the same area, where rebels killed miners and stole dozens of motorcycles and large sums of cash, ultimately requiring an intervention by the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces to restore order.
Cabo Delgado, a province heavily endowed with natural gas and mineral wealth, has been embroiled in extremist violence for eight years, with the insurgency first taking hold in October 2017. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) highlights the severity of the ongoing threat, noting that 11 violent events occurred in the region over the last two weeks alone.
Most of these incidents, which resulted in nine deaths, have been linked to extremists associated with the Islamic State. With the total death toll from the conflict now reaching 6,527, these recurring raids on mining sites underscore the persistent difficulty in stabilizing the rural districts of this volatile province.
