Africa-Press – Mozambique. People linked to the Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility on Monday for new attacks in the regions of Chiúre and Muidumbe, Cabo Delgado, with at least five people beheaded, amid growing violence in that Mozambican province.
The claim, made through Islamic State (IS) propaganda channels, said that four people were captured and beheaded in a village in Chiúre on Friday. On Sunday, another person was captured and killed in Muidumbe, also by individuals allegedly belonging to the Ahlu-Sunnah wal Jama`a (ASWJ) group.
At the end of last week, the same group had already claimed responsibility for another attack in Chiúre, south of Cabo Delgado, and the death of 18 “naparamas” paramilitaries, using different weapons. In that previous message, the extremist group claimed responsibility for the death of 18 members of these traditional local militias in the attack in Walicha, Chiúre, and the destruction of “dozens of houses” and motorcycles.
The “naparamas” are Mozambican paramilitaries who emerged in the 1980s during the civil war, combining traditional knowledge and mystical elements in the fight against enemies, operating within the community. In Cabo Delgado, these militias support the defence and security forces (FDS) in the fight against extremists who have been operating locally since 2017 and have already displaced more than a million people across the province.
Several regions of Cabo Delgado, especially Chiure, have seen increasing activity by members of these groups in recent days. Last week, extremists also claimed responsibility for the beheading of at least three Mozambican Christians in different locations.
The Minister of National Defence admitted on Thursday in Maputo that he was concerned about the wave of new attacks in Cabo Delgado, adding that defence forces were on the ground pursuing the armed insurgents.
“As a security force, we are not satisfied with the current situation, given that in recent days the terrorists have had access to areas further away from the centre of gravity that we had identified,” Defence Minister Cristóvão Chume told journalists.
He added that the defence and security forces are on the ground “fighting the terrorists, pursuing the terrorists”, acknowledging that “it will not always be possible to prevent situations like these”, which have been occurring since at least 24 July in the district of Chiúre.
According to the minister, the latest attacks have caused around 12,000 displaced persons, with local authorities and civil society organisations on the ground already providing support to the victims, above all to “minimise the suffering of the public”.
The governor of Cabo Delgado, Valige Tauabo, also acknowledged to Lusa in Pemba that there has been an upsurge in the activity of these groups in the last three months, more pronounced since the end of June, particularly in the south of the province, which in the last few days alone has caused thousands of displaced persons to flee to Chiure and neighbouring Nampula.
Members of the Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for another attack on 24 July on the village and police station of Chiúre Velho, also in the south of Cabo Delgado province, using automatic weapons and stealing equipment from inside.
Humanitarian agencies on the ground estimate that at least 34,000 new displaced persons were created between 20 and 25 July alone, due to new attacks by insurgents in Cabo Delgado, in the regions of Chiure, Ancuabe and Muidumbe.
Most of these displaced persons are currently concentrated in two schools in the village of Chiúre, where they are receiving humanitarian support from United Nations agencies and the Mozambican authorities.
At least 349 people were killed in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in northern Mozambique in 2024, an increase of 36% over the previous year, according to a study released in February by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS).
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