The ACLED organization recorded ten violent events over the last two weeks in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, nine of which involved Islamic State extremists and resulted in 26 deaths. This brings the total number of fatalities linked to the conflict to 6,570 since the armed insurgency first erupted in the region back in October 2017.
From May 4 to 17, a total of 2,384 violent events have occurred since the start of the conflict, with 2,203 involving elements associated with Islamic State Mozambique (ISM), according to the latest data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
In the report covering this two-week period, it is noted that a group of ISM fighters moved south through the Ancuabe district and entered Chiúre. It adds that despite the Mozambican and Rwandan armies maintaining bases in Ancuabe, the only active resistance encountered by the militant group came from local residents and elements of the local Naparama militias, none of whom possess any firearms.
“Other ISM elements remain active further north, having successfully used an improvised explosive device against a convoy of the Armed Defense Forces of Mozambique (FADM) in Macomia, and are also present in southern Mocímboa da Praia,” the text reads. “At sea, fishermen and traders continue to face a double threat—both from the insurgents and from the navy, which extorts money from civilian vessel operators.”
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As a direct result of this sudden insurgent movement, more than 13,000 people abandoned their homes in the Ancuabe district alone up to May 12, according to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “A number that has, almost certainly, increased significantly since then,” ACLED adds.
The organization reports that during this specific southward movement toward Chiúre, these militant elements arrived at the village of Messanja on May 17, where they once again set fire to houses and a local church, entering into a direct clash with Naparama paramilitaries.
On its official propaganda channels, the Islamic State claimed to have killed 26 Naparama fighters, but local sources report that civilians, upon seeing that the insurgents were running out of ammunition, pursued them.
“One source stated that 12 insurgents were killed, while another reported that two Naparamas died and nine were injured,” ACLED notes. The gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been the target of extremist attacks for eight years, with the very first attack registered on October 5, 2017, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia.
