Mozambique: Islamic State claims attack on Macomia military base

The extremist group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kathupa base, in the interior of the Macomia district of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, saying that 10 soldiers from Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces were killed.

The attack, which took place on 8 August, was claimed in a statement released by the Islamic State’s Amaq agency, which said that seven other soldiers were injured and which included a photograph of victims and seized material, the authenticity of which could not be verified.

The Mozambican authorities have so far not confirmed the incident.

It was apparently an attempt to recover the base, which the Defence and Security Forces captured from terrorists last year.

The president of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, said last Thursday that the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces had expelled the terrorists from all the districts they occupied in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

“Our Defence and Security Forces, also assisted by the local force, continue to relentlessly pursue the terrorists, having evicted them from all the districts they occupied until 2021,” said Filipe Nyusi, in Maputo, at a reception for Kenyan counterpart William Ruto, on a state visit to the country.

Cabo Delgado province has been facing armed insurgency for almost six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The armed insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new attacks have emerged south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.

“Efforts to fight terrorists who attack some districts of Cabo Delgado province continue, combining multilateral and bilateral cooperation, from SADC, through SAMIM [Southern African Military Mission], and Rwanda, respectively,” said the Mozambican President, describing the situation to William Ruto.

The governments of Mozambique and Kenya signed on Thursday in Maputo, as part of this state visit, four memoranda of understanding and four agreements, one of which is in the field of defence.

“Because the challenges of combating terrorism are common and require concerted efforts, even before a formal agreement in the field of defence and security, we have already been working with your country, welcoming the Kenyan experience, which has successfully faced this scourge over the years,” said Filipe Nyusi, in the same speech, addressing his Kenyan counterpart.

The conflict in northern Mozambique has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Both countries have suffered attacks linked to the extremist group Al-Shabaab and Islamic State.

Source: clubofmozambique