The attack at the weekend in the northern Cabo Delgado province -- where French energy giant TotalEnergies relaunched a giant gas project in January -- was reported separately by a local news platform.

The province has been ravaged since 2017 by an Islamic State-linked insurgency that has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians and led to the deployment of Mozambique and Rwandan troops.

A local security official told AFP that Mozambican navy forces had opened fire on fishing boats off the port town of Mocimboa da Praia early Sunday.

"At least 15 people were killed and several others were injured," he said on condition of anonymity.

A local politician who also spoke anonymously said: "Between 13 and 15 people died and three were injured. My friend's boat was hit but he survived."

Residents sought a meeting with the force commander but had no response, he said.

ACLED, an independent global conflict monitor informed by local networks, confirmed the incident to AFP and said at least 13 were killed.

There was no immediate comment from the government or military.

Mozambican forces in Cabo Delgado have previously been accused of violence against civilians in their operations.

TotalEnergies in late January relaunched construction on a gas project in the province that was halted in 2021 after a jihadist attack that claimed around 800 lives, according to ACLED estimates.

While Cabo Delgado has not experienced another incident on the scale of the 2021 assault, there are regular attacks on civilians, including beheadings and kidnappings.

Around 6,500 people have been killed since the insurgency began, ACLED says.

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TotalEnergies