Mozambique: Islamic State claims responsibility for killing nine soldiers

Mozambique: Islamic State claims responsibility for killing nine soldiers

The Islamic State terrorist group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, in which it said nine soldiers were killed, the second of its kind known this month.

According to information provided by the terrorist group on its propaganda channels, the attack took place this week, but it did not specify the location.

Lusa has not yet been able to confirm the veracity of this information on the ground, and the Mozambican government does not comment on this type of attack.

On 9 December, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in Cabo Delgado in which five military personnel died and said that they had beheaded a Christian civilian.

According to information provided by the terrorist group on its propaganda channels, the attack was documented on video and took place in the village of Manhiça in the Muidumbe district, leading to the population fleeing.

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

The conflict has already displaced a million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

On 22 November, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi called for “decisions” on the capacity of the Armed Forces in Cabo Delgado to respond, namely with reservists, in view of the planned withdrawal of foreign forces supporting the terrorist groups on the ground.

“Concrete decisions on the response capacity of the Armed Forces in relation to their action in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado in the period after the withdrawal of friendly forces from SAMIM [the SADC mission in Mozambique] and Rwanda,” Nyusi asked at the opening of the XXIV Coordinating Council of the Ministry of National Defence.

“To this end, your reflection should also assess how best to capitalise on the wealth of reservists, committing them directly or indirectly to various missions for the defence of our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And the current reality justifies it,” he added.

Last August, the SADC summit approved a 12-month extension of the mission in Cabo Delgado until July next year. Last July, an evaluation mission proposed the complete withdrawal of SAMIM soldiers in Cabo Delgado by July 2024, pointing out that the situation in the province “is now calm”, although the risks remain.

In its recommendations, the assessment mission advises the gradual start of SAMIM’s withdrawal from 15 December this year and the completion of the withdrawal on 15 July 2024, i.e. one day before the end of the extension decided on Tuesday last week by the SADC troika.

In addition to SAMIM and the Mozambican government forces, Rwandan troops are fighting the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, operating on the perimeter of the area where the natural gas projects in the Rovuma basin are located.

Source » clubofmozambique