He praised the young soldiers who have been fighting the insurgents

"Over the past week, they have had successes and casualties, recovering Lake Inguri, which the jihadists used for fishing. The young people are there, even though some have fallen in battle," Mr Nyusi said, at a meeting in the industrial town of Matola.

More than 4,000 people have been killed and 800,000 forced from their homes since militant Islamists launched an insurgency in Cabo Delgado in 2017.