Mozambican and Rwandan troops have rescued more than 100 people who had been taken hostage by Islamic State-linked militants in Mocimboa da Praia district, North Mozambique.
Rwanda had deployed in July deployed 1000-strong troops to Mozambique to help the country combat an escalating IS-linked insurgency that threatens its stability.
The troops had registered a number of successes in the fight against the militia since their arrival in the country.
In the latest operation, the hostages – mostly children, women and the elderly – were recovered in the dense forest of the administrative post of Mbau which sheltered one of the key bases of the jihadists.
According to Radio Mozambique, there are concerns about a lack of food for the recovered hostages with reports saying there is only enough food to last them 48 hours.
Extremist rebel groups loosely linked to the Islamic State have spread their influence over a large area and left a humanitarian crisis in North Mozambique after over four years of insurgency.
More than 3,000 Mozambicans have been killed and 800,000 people displaced by the rebellion.
UN World Food Program estimates that nearly one million people need food aid urgently as a result of the conflict.