Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican government conceded on Friday that there are still attacks by extremist groups in the northern Cabo Delgado province, but assured that the situation is under control and safe.
“Yes, the government is aware,” said Mozambique’s government spokesman, Inocêncio Impissa, at a press conference in Maputo, answering questions from journalists about the occurrence of new attacks in Cabo Delgado.
“The government has been controlling through the Mozambican defence and security forces, on the one hand, and on the other, [with] friendly forces from Rwanda. And it has managed to control things,” emphasised Inocêncio Impissa.
Cabo Delgado province has once again been the scene of armed attacks associated with the extremist group Islamic State, which invades villages, killing civilians and looting property.
The Mozambican executive, which has military support from the armed forces of Rwanda, pointed to the relay passing the flame of unity as an indication of security and tranquillity in Cabo Delgado province, especially in the town of Awasse, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia, and in the district of Macomia, previously the scene of successive attacks by terrorist groups.
On 7 April, the Mozambican president launched the flame of national unity relay procession, which set off in the district of Nangade, in Cabo Delgado, and is due to travel the length and breadth of the country until it reaches Maputo on 25 June, culminating in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of independence.
“We’ve been watching live footage, in attendance, so you can see a human cast positioned, dancing and singing and so on. For us that’s the balance of the security situation,” said Impissa.
“And if the situation in those places were hot, very hot, we wouldn’t even have the relay procession of the flame of unity, not even the members of the public in that group accompanying the relay procession,” he added.
The attack by armed groups on villages in the Ancuabe district, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, between 31 March and 2 April, caused almost 1,500 displaced people, according to the International Organisation for Migration (‘OIM’).
According to the UN agency’s latest report, “the attacks and increased fear of violence” by these insurgent groups led to 490 families fleeing the villages of Nonia and Mihegane, totalling 1,473 displaced people, more than half (56%) of them children.
Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion.
The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May 2024, on the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents looting the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with Mozambique’s defence and security forces and Rwandan soldiers, who are supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in northern Mozambique, an increase of 36% on the previous year, according to a study released by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS), an academic institution of the US government’s Department of Defence.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
