\u201cIf [the jihadists] knew I was a government official, they would have beheaded me,\u201d Tomas Langa, a civil servant in northern Mozambique, told the BBC.<\/p>\n
He feels he had a lucky escape. We have changed his named for his safety.<\/p>\n
Woken in the early hours of 10 May by heavy gunfire, Mr Langa looked out of his window to see four armed men standing outside his house in Macomia town in the insurgency-hit Cabo Delgado province.<\/p>\n
He was terrified and ran into the countryside, where he hid for three days living on cassava plants.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky they only insulted me as I ran,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fighters linked to the Islamic State (IS) group targeted government buildings and positions in the town before looting shops and warehouses.<\/p>\n
The gunmen kept the area under siege for two days, creating an atmosphere of fear and chaos.<\/p>\n
The jihadists raided a medical facility run by aid agency M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF), seizing vehicles and medical supplies.<\/p>\n
MSF said it has had no choice but to relocate staff and suspend its operations in Macomia.<\/p>\n
Alfane Silva, a father of five, told the BBC he was detained and interrogated by eight gunmen. Again, this is not his real name.<\/p>\n
“They were wearing military gear and carried heavy weapons,” he said.<\/p>\n
“They told me to run to the bush or they would kill me if I stayed in town.”<\/p>\n
Mr Silva said it took two days for government reinforcements to arrive, but by then the militants had already left.<\/p>\n
More than 700 people fled this latest round of fighting in Macomia, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).<\/p>\n
Those who stayed behind, like Mr Silva and Mr Langa, have been left with no medical facilities, no electricity, and live in constant fear of another attack.<\/p>\n
It was the latest resurgence of the violence that had declined as security forces, backed by troops from neighbouring states, seemed to be getting the situation under control.<\/p>\n
But now, many of those troops are being withdrawn.<\/p>\n