South African Worker Abducted in Mozambique Hunting Camp Raid

JOHANNESBURG — Up to 20 workers were abducted during an insurgent attack on a hunting camp in Mozambique, with a South African man among those seized, South Africa’s foreign ministry announced Monday.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation stated that the 30-year-old victim was one of five South African employees at the wildlife reserve affected by last week’s assault. Two of the remaining four have since returned home, while two are safe in Mozambique.

“Embassy officials are collaborating with Mozambican authorities and closely monitoring the situation in Niassa Province,” the department told The Associated Press.

Three U.S. citizens are believed to have been evacuated from the region.

Authorities believe militants linked to the Islamic State group, which initiated an insurgency in neighboring Cabo Delgado province in 2017, carried out the assault.

The U.S. Embassy in Mozambique acknowledged the attack in a statement but did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Local police reported that at least 11 people, including children, were abducted during the raid on the town of Marangira in Niassa province. The discrepancy between the number of abductees reported by South African and Mozambican authorities remains unexplained.

Police spokesperson Osvaldo Mahando told local media that one person was killed, another was slightly injured, and vehicles were set ablaze during the attack.

He added that security forces were patrolling nearby forests.

The insurgency has destabilized northern Mozambique, killing thousands and displacing over a million people, according to the United Nations. Militants have also conducted attacks in the neighboring Niassa and Nampula provinces.

Mozambique’s state news agency, Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (AIM), reported that the attackers looted and burned a hunting camp and damaged a health center, police post, and telecommunications tower.

Citing provincial government figures, AIM stated that the attack displaced thousands and initially provided shelter to approximately 2,000 people.

The attack prompted the U.S. Embassy to advise Americans to avoid the Niassa Special Reserve and areas near the Niassa-Cabo Delgado border.

Peter Bofin, a regional expert at the conflict monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, said the latest attack marked the group’s first incursion into Niassa since May 2025.

Bofin noted that the raid was likely an isolated operation rather than evidence of a sustained presence in Niassa, but it demonstrated the militants’ mobility.

“The ability of one ISM (Islamic State Mozambique) cell to enter Niassa and execute the attack highlights that ISM retains an advantage in rural maneuverability,” he said.

Bofin said the camp provided an opportunity to seize supplies and strike a key economic target, undermining confidence in the government’s control of the region.

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