In talks with the local population, Bernardino Rafael urged people to use all the means at their disposal and called for greater vigilance to protect the community.

“Now is not the time to run away. It’s time to resist. When they [the jihadists] enter our fields what we have to do is chase them and resist with a knife, a machete [or] a spear and then one of you runs to communicate to the security forces to join and chase these jihadists away,” he said.

He assured the population that the militants were being pursued and some had been killed during armed confrontations.

In Quissanga district, local residents, particularly the youth, asked for weapons to help defend their land from jihadist invasions.

The police chief assured that those who are qualified would be integrated into the local force - a group that works with government soldiers and international allies in the fight against terrorism.