The government’s assertions that the insurgency has been contained are called into question by the Islamic extremist rebels in Mozambique’s troubled northern province of Cabo Delgado, who have launched a new onslaught that has resulted in an additional 80,000 people being displaced.
In a campaign that has lasted for more than two months, the rebels have increased their territory. The latest attack, which began in June, comes after a time of comparatively calm during which the national police commander in Mozambique stated that “the struggle against terrorism is practically at an end.”
That assertion was disproved when the fighters launched their most southerly attack yet, destroying villages and beheading citizens in the previously unaffected Ancuabe, Chiure, and Mecufi regions since the conflict’s start in October 2017.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that as a result of the most recent violence, there are now slightly under 950,000 individuals who have been forced to leave Cabo Delgado.
The insurgents are far from being destroyed despite the military assistance Mozambique is receiving from troops provided by neighboring nations and Rwanda. Following the extremists’ capture of the vital town of Palma in March 2021, international forces were stationed in Cabo Delgado a year ago.
