Jihadist insurgents variously calling themselves “al-Shabaab” or the “Islamic State Central Africa Province” (ISCAP) are fast escalating brutal attacks inĀ Mozambique’s oil-rich Cabo Delgado province, in the north of the country.Ā In twin attacks Nov. 9, more than 50 residents were beheaded in Muatide village, whereĀ militants turned a football fieldĀ into an “execution ground,” while several more were beheaded and houses put to the torch inĀ Nanjaba village.
On Oct. 14, hundreds of insurgents crossed theĀ Ruvuma River into Tanzania, and attacked theĀ border village ofĀ Kitaya,Ā in Mtwara region, beheadingĀ 20 residents. They gathered villagers at gunpoint and harangued them before fingering several for summary execution and retreating back across the border.
Landlocked Zimbabwe, which depends on unimpeded passage through Mozambique for accessĀ to the sea, has broached military intervention. DefenseĀ MinisterĀ Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri saidĀ on the sidelines of a Zimbabwe Defense Forces planning conferenceĀ in Nyanga: “We are really worried with the situation prevailing in Mozambique, particularly in the Cabo Delgado region. The situation is no longer affecting Mozambique only… and that is worrisome to Zimbabwe because Mozambique is our lifeline.” She added that Zimbabwe is prepared to act with approval of theĀ Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The conflcit in Mozambique has displaced more than 300,000 people and claimed more than 2,000 lives since it broke out in 2017.Ā The Mozambican Armed Defense Forces are also accused of grave rights abuses in the conflict. International rights groups are calling for an investigation into a grisly incident caught on video in September, showing theĀ apparent summary execution of an unarmed and naked woman by men wearing army uniforms. (BBC News,Ā AllAfrica, Defense Post, AP, Mozambique News Agency, HRW, Trouble Spots)
Photo via ISS Africa
Mozambique: thousands flee insurgency
The population has soared in Mozambique’s port city of Pemba, as thousands are displaced from the countryside of the northern region.Ā Boatloads of people have fled their homes over the last few months after their villages fell to jihadist insurgents. The jihadistsĀ seized coastal zones with natural gas installations and have begun to push to the inland districts of Cabo Delgado. (AfricaNews,Ā AFP)