Daesh claims 27 attacks that caused destruction and 70 deaths in Mozambique

Terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for 27 attacks on “Christian” villages in the Chiure region of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, in which it says 70 people have been killed in recent days.

The group’s propaganda channels, which document these attacks with photographs, also mention the destruction of 500 churches, homes and public buildings in the area in southern Cabo Delgado province, according to statements accessed by Lusa today.

The Mozambican authorities do not comment on the operational situation, but Lusa has heard in recent days in the village of Chiure reports from internally displaced persons who arrived in the city about attacks, destruction of hospitals, schools and houses, as well as deaths in various villages of the region by militants.

Cabo Delgado Governor Walige Tahuabo told Lusa on Monday that the “horrific” acts that have plagued the south of this Mozambique province for two weeks are being carried out by “small groups” of “violent extremists” but that he still believes in reconciliation.

These are several attacks in various villages of the districts of southern Cabo Delgado, especially in Quior, after insurgent activities have been concentrated in the center and north of the province in recent years, starting in 2017.

“There is a small group in the communities that is scaring people, and people just hearing that it is them, that they are extremists coming, creates panic in the villages,” admitted Governor Luse in Pemba, the provincial capital. Valige Taouabo.

These are “horrific acts that are committed by violent extremists and that even lead to terrorism,” he noted.

“In the south of the province, the actions that took place in the north and center were not common,” Taouabo said, acknowledging that the attacks caused “community panic,” especially in Chiura.

“They were all excited. And it’s not surprising,” he complained.

Local authorities estimate that more than 13,000 people have already fled in recent days from the town of Cure, the last relatively safe haven in the area, alone, creating a constant stream of new displaced people arriving after days of walking.

Rebel attacks in Cabo Delgado began in 2017, but the governor recalls that as of November 2022, populations who have moved from the north and center to areas in the south in search of safety – an estimated more than one million people – have begun return to their home villages.

“In 2023, prosperity was already felt, because the entire population that had left was already in their villages (…) At the end of 2023, small pockets, some niches, began to appear, with interventions in villages, but with a slightly different approach to what happened in the past,” explained Valige Taouabo.

The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, has in recent months publicly repeated his call for young Mozambicans allegedly recruited by these groups to return to their communities, ensuring that they are well received within the communities.

A reconciliation that the governor says is needed to allow the return of the “many” Mozambicans who were “forced to join” the rebel groups.

“It is very strong, especially when the head of state leaves. We also noticed that many people surrendered, and this was at a time when there was nothing,” he notes, believing that there is still “the last group of young people in the territory of people”. land who do not accept this reconciliation.

Cabo Delgado province has faced an armed insurgency for more than six years, with extremist group Islamic State claiming responsibility for some attacks, leading to a military response from July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) .), freeing up areas near gas projects.

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to UN agencies, and some 4,000 have died, according to the ACLED Conflict Recording Project.