Nation is latest hot spot for Islamic extremists
MAPUTO, Mozambique — The stinging success of Mozambique’s Islamic extremist rebels in seizing and holding a northern port city two weeks ago signals to the government, neighboring countries and the world that Africa has yet another insurgency hot spot.
A battle looms as the government is expected to launch its forces to regain control of Mocimboa da Praia, a strategic port in northeastern Mozambique that was captured by the extremists earlier this month.
The Islamic State Central African Province showed new levels of organization, strategy, manpower and weaponry in the dayslong battle to win control of the port earlier this month.
The extremists’ victory in Mocimboa adds to the obstacles facing the multibillion dollar international investments to exploit the massive deposits of liquified natural gas in northern Mozambique.
Mocimboa, in Mozambique’s northernmost Cabo Delgado province, is a centuriesold port on Indian Ocean trade routes and close to the border with Tanzania. It’s the third time this year that the rebels have taken control of Mocimboa and the longest time that they have held the city of an estimated 30,000 people.
The rebels started as a ragtag group near Mocimboa in 2017 and since then have grown in strength to carry out a campaign of violence in villages in coastal districts of Cabo Delgado, killing more than 1,500 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.