What happened

Roughly 200 ASWJ militants attacked Palma on 24 March and controlled much of the town for several days, killing at least dozens, destroying public infrastructure and trapping residents and foreign LNG contractors. No authoritative final death-and-missing total exists, so later estimates exceeding one thousand are not treated here as a settled casualty count. About 220 civilians sheltered at the Amarula Palma Hotel; after limited helicopter evacuations, a vehicle convoy was ambushed as survivors tried to escape toward the coast and Afungi. The attack occurred beside—not inside—the fortified Afungi LNG construction site, and reviewed sources did not establish direct physical damage to the LNG plant. Mozambique LNG nevertheless evacuated more than 2,500 project personnel and civilians through Afungi, withdrew all remaining staff and declared force majeure on 26 April, suspending the project for more than four years. This is distinct from the separately recorded 2025 attacks around Palma during preparations to restart construction.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.