AfricaPress-Tanzania: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Simon Sirro yesterday said the Police were following up on reports on a Tanzania national sanctioned by the US over his alleged role in leading a terrorism group in Mozambique.
Abu Yasir Hassan is said to be a Tanzanian national leading a militant insurgency in gas-rich Mozambique, and who is based in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique and Coast Region in Tanzania.
In the recent decision, the US government has blocked all property and interests in property held by Mr Hassan and its ISIS-Mozambique group subject to the country’s jurisdiction.
Its citizens were also prohibited from engaging in any transactions either with Mr Hassan, individuals and the group in general.
Contacted yesterday, IGP Sirro said, “We haven’t received a report on the decision. However, we will follow up in our database to establish the illegibility of the information.”
The country Police chief said it was difficult to immediately establish who the said Abu is because the one booked in the security records implicated in such crimes had died.
But, reports from the US state department describe Mr Hassan as aged between 38 and 40 who had led the ISIS-Mozambique which is also known through many other names.
The group is also known as ‘Ansar al-Sunna, al-Shabaab, Ahl al-Sunna Wa Al-Jamma’ and ‘Ansaar Kalimmat Allah’ – and that it has reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Under him, ISIS-Mozambique has killed over 1,300 civilians, while it is estimated more than 2,300 civilians, members of security forces, and suspected ISIS-Mozambique militants have been killed since it launched violent attacks in October 2017.
Hassan – who is also known as Abu Qim – led the group that coordinated a series of large-scale attacks that led to seizure of a strategic port of Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province during which nearly 670,000 people were displaced.
US President Joe Biden’s administration decisions mean that foreign financial institutions that will conduct or facilitate any significant transaction on behalf of Mr Hassan or his group could be subject to the US sanctions.
Therefore, it is now a crime to knowingly provide material support to the insurgency in Mozambique, or to attempt or conspire to do so.
The decision is significant, reflecting how President Biden is moving fast to cut off funding avenues to militant organisations in Africa.
This is because similar measures have been extended to the ISIS-Democratic Republic of Congo and its leader, Seka Musa Baluku, who have been on America’s terrorist list.
These measures expose and isolate groups and individuals, and deny them access to the US financial system, while at the same time helping law enforcement activities of US agencies and other governments.
“Although ISIS-associated media portray Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) as a unified structure, ISIS-DRC and ISIS-Mozambique are distinct groups with distinct origins,” said the State Department, adding.
“These groups have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.”
May, 2020, the Tanzania government announced to dispatch troops to its border with Mozambique to boost security after insurgents launch attacks in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado and nearby Tanzania villages.
In April, the group reportedly massacred at least 50 people in Muidumbe District when they over-ran the district’s capital Namacunde and occupied the district police command.
In February, last year, the group attacked security forces and civilians in Cabo Delgado, killing people, destroying property and seizing fire-arms and ammunition.
