Carlos Queiroz-linked hunting camp attacked in northern Mozambique

At least three Americans have been evacuated from a hunting camp in northern Mozambique after it was attacked and reportedly set on fire by suspected rebels.

The camp, which is co-owned by Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz, is located inside a wildlife reserve near the border of Cabo Delgado province. Reuters reported that the three Americans had been on a hunting trip when the attack took place.

Camp staff fled the area before the Mozambican army intervened and engaged the attackers, according to a source quoted by the agency.

There have been reports of deaths, although the number of casualties has not been confirmed. Tensions remain high in the area, and access to the site is currently restricted because of the security situation.

Queiroz, who has previously managed Egypt and Iran, said he was waiting for information from Mozambique’s military and security authorities before drawing conclusions about what had happened.

Speaking to Reuters by telephone from Lisbon, he said: “From the pictures I have seen, it appears that the entire facility has been burned.”

The Portuguese coach added that he did not have first-hand information from the scene of the attack. He said the area had been closed because it was considered unsafe.

The attack was first reported late on Thursday by ZITAMAR News, an independent English-language digital news platform based in Mozambique. The report said that a number of people had been killed.

Tertius Jacobs, an analyst from the region, said he believed the rebels had abducted several civilians. However, those reports have not been independently verified.

A spokesperson for the United States Department of State confirmed that the US embassy in Mozambique was aware of an attack on a hunting lodge near the Niassa Special Reserve, on the outskirts of Cabo Delgado province.

The spokesperson did not confirm whether any Americans had been injured.

The Niassa Special Reserve is one of Africa’s largest protected wildlife areas. The region around it has been affected by a long-running insurgency linked to Islamic State.

Mozambique has been fighting the rebellion in gas-rich Cabo Delgado since 2017. The conflict has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands of residents to leave their homes.

The latest incident comes in an area where security conditions have made it difficult to establish the full circumstances of attacks quickly. Officials have not yet provided a detailed account of the assault, while reports of fatalities and possible abductions remain unconfirmed.