UN reveals growing sophistication of terrorists in Cabo Delgado
A United Nations (UN) report on security in Cabo Delgado addresses the rebels of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jamaa, a group claiming attacks under the banner of the Islamic State Mozambique, and notes that the group’s operations increased in the first half of 2024.
According to the document, this phenomenon coincided with the phased withdrawal of forces from the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM).
This UN report contradicts the narrative of the Mozambican government and several speeches by President Filipe Nyusi, who has asserted that terrorism is being weakened in Cabo Delgado.
In fact, it is based on this argument of advances by the troops in the northern operational theatre that the executive is trying to convince TotalEnergies to resume operations at the Afungi logistics base in Palma, abandoned for security reasons that forced TotalEnergies to invoke “Force Majeure.”
The report states that currently, the terrorist group has more than 350 fighters on the ground in Cabo Delgado, organized into three main groups that sow fear in the populations of the districts most affected by the insurgency, particularly in the northern region of the province.
The UN document estimates that the terrorists have evolved from groups of 200 elements to groups of 3,500 elements from January this year to now.
“ASWJ has tried to expand the theatre of conflict,” overburdening Mozambican forces and their allies, and their tactics “are more sophisticated, calculated, and well-executed,” the report reads.
The UN recalls the attack that occurred on May 10 in the district of Macomia, which the risk management company Focus Group said demonstrated the sustained capacity of the insurgents to carry out large-scale attacks.
They occupied the town for more than 24 hours before leaving on May 12 with looted goods and stolen vehicles, Focus stated in a report last month. The attack caused considerable casualties in the Mozambican army, which had to move Rwandan troops to help recapture Macomia.
The document reiterates that the insurgents supported by the Islamic State in Mozambique, operating near a $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that TotalEnergies plans to resume this year, are becoming increasingly active and employing more sophisticated tactics, the report released this week warns.
Mozambique had repelled the rebels with the help of troops from a Southern African bloc and Rwanda, but there has been a resurgence of violence this year in the northeastern province of Cabo Delgado. The regional military mission completed its withdrawal last month, further exacerbating the risk of conflict.
“The situation in Cabo Delgado Province is more fluid after a change in the security landscape,” said the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team in a report to the UN Security Council. “There has been an increase in carefully orchestrated attacks.”
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne assures that the company expects to move forward with the project by the end of the year.
