Over 180 people trapped in Mozambique hotel after insurgent attack

Mozambique

More than 180 people including expatriate workers are trapped inside a hotel in a northern Mozambique town under siege by insurgents for three days, workers and security sources said Friday. Several people were reportedly dead, according to witnesses and a rights group, after the attack in Palma near a liquified natural gas site in Cabo Delgado province. French oil giant Total is the principal investor in the $20 billion (16.9 billion euros) project -- Africa's largest -- with six other international firms including ExxonMobil involved in the area. Jihadist militants began a raid on the coastal town on Wednesday afternoon, forcing terrified residents to flee into surrounding forest as LNG and government workers sought shelter at the Amarula Palma hotel.