Various languages, including Makwe, Makonde, Mwani, Swahili, and Portuguese, are spoken in the town.[2] The town was historically known for its fishing, basketry, and mat-weaving industries.[2]
The local economy was transformed by the discovery of gas in the nearby Indian Ocean in 2010, which led to a rapidly growing liquefied natural gas sector.[2][3]
They attacked Palma on 24 March 2021; more than 35,000 people were displaced,[4][9][10] many fleeing to the provincial capital, Pemba.[5][8] Dozens of civilians were murdered,[1] with beheaded bodies left in the street.[8] The militants battled with the Mozambican military, police, and the Dyck Advisory Group (a private military company hired by the police).[8] Lionel Dyck, the head of the Dyck group, said that the attackers wore dark uniforms, were organized, and well-equipped with AK-47 rifles, RPD and PKM machine guns, and heavy mortars.[8]
Prior to the attack, the population was around 75,000.[1] Many foreign and domestic natural gas workers evacuated the town by boat, helicopter, and convey, but others could not be evacuated.[5][8] Most communications with the town were cut off on 29 March.[11] On 29 March, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed that its Islamic State's Central Africa Province was responsible for the attack and said they had killed 55 people, including Mozambican army soldiers; these claims could not be immediately independently verified.[11]
