The CEO of a South African security company operating in northern Mozambique, Lionel Dyck, says helicopters that can transport many people are required to evacuate those trapped in the Palma region by insurgents.
Dyck says he has been surprised by the level of organisation and the types of weapons that the insurgents are using.
The ISIS-linked fighters have killed a number of people, including at least one South African, in northern Mozambique.
They’ve attacked the town of Palma near the Tanzanian border.
South African, Adrian Nel, was killed as he and a group of other ex-pats tried to flee the town in a convoy.
At least 12 South Africans are believed to be fighting alongside the insurgents in northern Mozambique.
Some survivors evacuated from Palma:
Dyck says his Russian-made helicopter gunships are not suitable for extracting people from a conflict zone.
“What we hope and what we really need is a helicopter that can lift a lot of people. My helicopters are fighting helicopters, they’re gunships, they can take 2/3 people. We’ve got some search and rescue helicopters where we can squeeze 4 in.”
“We actually need some MI8 type helicopters or even one [that] can go in and land and pick up a lot of people. It’s quite safe because my gunships circle overhead. Anything on the ground that happens in daylight we can secure. The dissidents will not affect any operation on the ground because we can deal with them from there and we do very effectively,” explains Dyck.
Rescue efforts continue post ISIS attack in Palma:
