The European Union will offer Mozambique support in tackling a wave of militant attacks in the country's north by rebels with links to Islamic State, the EU's ambassador to the southern African nation said on Friday.

The rebel attacks in Cabo Delgado province date back to 2017 but the violence has gathered pace this year with insurgents seizing important towns for brief periods and hitting military and other strategic targets.

Mozambique had asked the EU for help in training its armed forces to battle the insurgency, which has raised fears for stability and security in southern Africa.

"The government of Mozambique has asked for help and we will give, but it is more aid in terms of training, logistics and medical services for the forces that are fighting terrorism in northern Mozambique," the EU's ambassador to Maputo, Antonio Sánchez Gaspar, said.

"So far all of our efforts have been on the humanitarian emergency and development side. We will continue to make efforts on the security side, which is just beginning," he said.

Rights group Amnesty International last month accused Mozambican soldiers of committing atrocities in the northern conflict zone, but the defence ministry dismissed the reports, saying militants regularly impersonated soldiers.