Mozambique’s Growing War
This past week Africa’s largest-ever private investment was halted due to an ISIS-affiliated insurgency in the town of Palma in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. Pama, a coast-town in the northernmost province, was subjected to a sophisticated, three-pronged attack. This group has been responsible for a series of large-scale attacks in the oil-rich northern area.
Bodies of the dead were discarded in the streets, some beheaded. The number of casualties and total damage was not yet known at the end of the week. Since a rebellion in the area in 2017, this anti-Western Islamic group has been an increasing threat to development in the area.
ISIS-Mozambique is also known as Ansar al-Sunna or al-Shabaab, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2018 and was acknowledged by ISIS in 2019. This group has been responsible for several attacks on the Mocimboa da Praia port about 83km (about 52 miles) from Palma.
ISIS-Mozambique was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States in March 2021. Mozambique has appealed for international help to battle the terrorist threat. The United States has deployed elite forces to train the Mozambique military in a two-month anti-terrorism training program which began March 2021.
Local civilians have been forced to flee and the violence has killed at least 2,600 people according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Total SE is a French multinational oil and gas company, which began a $20 million Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) project off the coast of Mozambique in 2010 with the project planning to deliver LNG by 2024. This project has promised to deliver social and economic benefits to the country including professional training, employment, and goods and services contracts. Additionally, in the long term, this project aims to develop construction and operation workforces, increase subject matter expertise, and generate revenue for socio-economic development.
AK Wilson – is a freelance journalist based in the United States
