Report: Mozambique Soldiers Trap Civilians in Insurgent-hit North 

JOHANNESBURG - Mozambican security forces are preventing tens of thousands of civilians displaced by jihadist attacks around the northern town of Palma from moving to safer areas, Human Rights Watch said.

Most of these people fled their homes when Islamic State-linked militants launched coordinated attacks on Palma on March 24, killing dozens as they ransacked their way through the port town. Many of the displaced sought refuge in the nearby village of Quitunda, close to a major gas project about five kilometers (three miles) from Palma, where HRW claims, in a report released Friday, they have been trapped by troops and ongoing fighting. "Government security forces have imposed restrictions that have prevented tens of thousands from leaving, placing them at risk from fighting and aid shortages," HRW said in a statement, adding that civilians caught trying to flee were "physically assaulted.”