Mozambique s Cabo Delgado - Militants Advance As Aid Access Shrinks allafrica.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from allafrica.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
December 20, 2020 Share
On November 23, a group of armed men, dressed in the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) uniform and believed to be terrorists, attacked Quifuque Island, in the district of Palma, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. Two civilian deaths were reported and many were taken captive. On November 26, insurgents returned to Namacande, the district capital of Muidumbe, and nearby Muatide. Clashes between the government troops and the militant took place. Fighting continued to escalate in the next few days and on November 29, an ambush by the militants led to killing of at least 25 soldiers and wounded 15 in the village of Matambalale in Muidumbe district. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama (ASWJ), also locally known as Ansar al-Sunna, is believed to behind these attacks.
MAPUTO
The small group of militants were dismissed as bandits and machete-wielding gangs by Mozambique s government after they began launching attacks in the country s northernmost Cabo Delgado province in October 2017.
At a glance: Cabo Delgado’s rapid descent
570,000 people displaced – the vast majority since January.
Militants control key transport routes, waterways, and strategic towns.
Brutal attacks indicate an attempt to depopulate parts of the province.
Local communities form self-defence militias to protect their towns and villages.
Administrative obstacles and access constraints hamper aid operations.
Poor conditions await displaced people in government-run camps.
A little more than three years later, the jihadists count thousands in their ranks and end 2020 having seized towns, launched deadly cross-border raids, and displaced more than half a million people – the vast majority over the past few months.