Families split by attack reunite in Mozambique

One week after vicious attack in town of Palma in rrn Mozambique, some families are finally finding some comfort in arms of ir loved ones, while ors continue to despair without any news.

re were scenes of happiness and desperation outside Pemba port on Thursday, as ar ship with one thousand displaced arrived in capital of Cabo Delgado province.

About 200 rebels armed with automatic rifles, machine guns, and mortars are still in control of part of Palma where government offices and banks are located, according to local media reports.

Thousands of residents already have fled to nearby Tanzania and south to provincial capital of Pemba, according to international aid ncies.

More than 900,000 people in Mozambique w require food aid because of crisis in rrn part of country, according to U.N. World Food Program.

Palma's streets are deserted except for sporadic gunfire from rebels, said Lionel Dyck, director of Dyck Advisory Group, whose helicopter gunships are helping Mozambican police battle insurgents.

insurgents, who are allied to Islamic State group, also attacked a site on Indian Ocean coast near Macomia last week, showing ir reach across Cabo Delgado province, according to local media reports.

three-year insurgency of rebels, who are primarily disaffected young Muslim men, has taken more than 2,600 lives and displaced an estimated 670,000 people, according to U.N.

rebels are kwn locally as al-Shabab ( youth in Arabic) but have kwn affiliation with jihadist rebels of same name in Somalia. United States last week declared Mozambique's rebels to be a terrorist organization and anunced that 12 military trainers had been deployed to help sourn African country's marines.

Portugal, Mozambique's former colonial power, anunced Tuesday that is stepping up its military cooperation by sending 60 soldiers to help train Mozambican special forces.

European Union is also preparing "to increase security cooperation (with Mozambique), possibly via support with equipment or training," Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said in a statement.

France-based oil and gas company has pulled out of its operations on outskirts of Palma, a multi-billion-dollar investment to pump liquefied natural gas from offshore oilfields in Indian Ocean.

Earlier this year company had said it requires an area covering a 25-kilometer (15-mile) radius to be secure from rebel violence. Palma is within that area, making it uncertain when oil giant will resume its investment.