A recent and gruesome report of over 50 people being beheaded by Islamic State (IS)-affiliated militants in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has sent shockwaves across the world, drawing alarm and condemnation from international actors.
The veracity of these reports is hard to ascertain, given that access to the region by journalists and human rights organizations is heavily restricted. In fact, even Mozambican news outlets have yet to report on the alleged attack in Muatide, although state media and the police have confirmed that the event did take place.
That being said, for an event of that scale to occur in the province would hardly be out of the ordinary, given the constant state of unrest and conflict that has plagued Cabo Delgado since 2017. In fact, there have been frequent reports of beheadings from the area, with over 600 attacks recorded since 2017, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project. Moreover, these attacks rose by 300% between January and April of this year, compared to the same four months last year.
The oil and gas-rich province has become a battleground for Islamist groups, who have attacked police stations, killed government officials, and stolen weapons from the military. In fact, armed militants recently captured the small harbor town of Mocimboa da Praia, taking over the town’s port and its armory, indicating the extent of their power and influence in the province.
This is particularly concerning, as it may indicate the surrender of crucial resources to terror groups. The town’s port represents a strategic and economic foothold, given that both Total and ExxonMobil have liquefied natural gas projects just a short distance away. This could potentially cut into oil and gas revenue, which is one of the key contributors to poverty reduction in the country.
Aside from militant insurgencies, Mozambique’s fragile economy was dealt another crushing blow last month, when Norwegian fertilizer company Yara recently announced that it would not be proceeding with building a plant in Cabo Delgado, wherein it would have used local gas to make fertilizer. It reasoned that the Mozambican government’s rates for gas were prohibitive.
Although Mozambican security forces claim to have the situation under control, and recently claimed that they had killed 59 terrorists, such reports are difficult to verify. Moreover, even if they are true, continued violence speaks to the fact that their “success” in defeating such groups has been grossly overstated.
Just in April, 52 young boys were murdered in the coastal village of Xitaxi for refusing the join the ranks of the militants. At the same time, many young girls are being kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery.
The terror outfits operating in the region have been linked to both Al-Shabaab and the IS, and it is thought that the militants are entering Cabo Delgado via Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambique. Some analysts, however, doubt whether they are truly linked to the IS, given that their affiliation to IS and Somalia-based al-Shabab has not been established. Instead, some experts argue that the militants’ motives are derived from widespread poverty and inequality, rather than religion.
That being said, in April 2019, the IS announced its Central African Province unit, called the ISCAP, which operates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The conflict has also drawn deep suspicion of and anger toward the government, with Amnesty International uncovering evidence of prison guards “torturing and dismembering alleged armed group fighters”. The international rights organization reports: “There is evidence the security forces have also committed crimes under international law and human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings.”
In a country where over 56% of the population is Christian and just 18% is Muslim, terror groups haves capitalized on anger and frustration from decades of disenfranchisement, marginalization, and unemployment among the minority Muslim community. For instance, following the discovery of oil and gas deposits in Cabo Delgado, the government licensed “the entire district of Montepuez to mining companies, leaving communities without land to grow their food”.
Aside from fostering tensions between different religious groups, the intense conflict has also led to the displacement of over 435,000 people. Moreover, the conflict in Cabo Delgado has already killed at least 2,300 people. This has left tens of thousands of people, many of whom were subsistence farmers, entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.
Moreover, it has driven them to the depths of desperation in order to flee violence. On November 1, a boat carrying 74 people capsized between the Ibo and Matemo islands, which lie north of provincial capital Pemba; 40 people died.
Meanwhile, it has also led to cross-border tensions, as terrorists have crossed over into Tanzania, where they have raided villages, razed homes, and killed dozens.
Against this backdrop, neighboring countries—Malawi, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, which are all members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)—have thus far failed to coordinate a proper counter-insurgency plan. Recently, however, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that he is prepared to assist Mozambique in its counter-insurgency operations.
Furthermore, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres decried the “wanton brutality” in Cabo Delgado, and called on “all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.” He also pledged to address the nation’s “humanitarian needs and efforts to uphold human rights, promote development, and prevent the spread of violent extremism”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, too, weighed in, saying, “More than 50 people have been beheaded, women kidnapped, villages looted and then set on fire,” adding, “Barbarians hijack a religion of peace to sow terror: Islamist terrorism is an international threat that calls for an international response.”
Given how Islamist groups have captured key economic and strategic resources, it is clear that Mozambican security forces are ill-prepared to tackle insurgencies of this scale. At the same time, it is evident that the country’s economy cannot sustain this level of critical damage for much longer, particularly in light of the current coronavirus pandemic. However, it remains to be seen how international actors will step in to assist Mozambican authorities.
Reports of Gruesome Violence by Islamist Groups in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Spark Alarm
Recent reprts of over 50 people being beheaded is the latest such episode in a province that has been plagued by violence and instability since 2017.
November 13, 2020
SOURCE: PLATFORM MEDIA