The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) organization estimates that the province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, has recorded three violent incidents in the past two weeks, two involving Islamic State extremists, which resulted in three deaths, bringing the death toll since 2017 to 6,518, Lusa reported on Friday, April 10.
According to ACLED’s latest report, with data from March 23 to April 5, of the 2,345 violent events recorded since October 2017—when the armed insurgency began in Cabo Delgado—274 involved elements associated with Islamic State Mozambique (EIM).
“The last two weeks have been quiet. EIM maintained its presence in Macomia and visited mining sites in Meluco, likely for the purpose of extortion. On the coast, the Navy of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM) continues to patrol, seeking to block the mouth of the Messalo River, although relations with local communities remain tense following the massacre of fishermen on March 15,” warns ACLED.
In its previous report, the organization, citing local sources, blamed the Mozambican Navy for the deaths of 13 fishermen in Mocímboa da Praia, but the FADM denied responsibility for the massacre, claiming that insurgents disguised in military uniforms were the ones who opened fire.
The gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been the target of extremist attacks for eight years, with the first attack recorded on October 5, 2017, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia.
President Daniel Chapo stated on December 8 of last year, in an interview with Lusa, that he does not rule out a solution through dialogue for the terrorism in the north of the country, because what Mozambique wants “is peace.”
“We will continue to work, and if this possibility exists, there are no problems for which a solution cannot be found. What we want is peace for the Mozambican people,” Chapo said in Porto, in an interview on the sidelines of the summit with Portugal.
