Although the security situation has improved significantly in the northern Cabo Delgado province, there are still heightened concerns in some parts of the province, specifically in Nangade district, with insurgents roaming the area.
Located in the north of the province, the district was once one of the main strongholds of insurgents in their war against the state.
Sources told Mozambique Insights that groups of insurgents have been seen in the area. For example, on 15 May, a group of around 30 insurgents was seen crossing Ntotwe village, heading towards the Kathupa forest, located between Mocímboa da Praia, Nangade and Palma.
Four days later, the insurgents captured 12 civilians in Nkonga village. Later, the hostages, who were not subjected to any type of violence, were released after being warned not to collaborate with the military. The insurgents took the victims’ supplies before heading into the forest towards Mocímboa da Praia.
With their memories filled with the horrors meted out by the insurgents, some villagers did not wait to see history repeat itself – they abandoned their homes in search of safer places, and many went to take shelter in the district headquarters.
This led Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and the South African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) to deploy units to the district to prevent it from falling back into the hands of the insurgents.
On 24 May, forces of Mozambique’s Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) ambushed the insurgents in Namuembe, with both sides suffering casualties.
Meanwhile, the local population is concerned about the end of SAMIM’s mission, next July.
Comment
The Nangade district was part of a corridor that went to east to Palma and served as an important rear guard for the insurgents, shortly after the first attack to Mocímboa da Praia, in the early morning of 5 October 2017.
In the following years, the insurgents loosened their grip on Nangade, moving down to districts such as Macomia and Muidumbe, but they returned to Nangade towards the end of 2020, where they gathered to launch the big attack on the village of Palma, on 24 March 2021.
So, nobody should fault the villagers for again abandoning the villages surrounding Nangade.
Meanwhile, the insurgents, who are divided into small groups, avoid clashes with Rwandan troops and seem to only areas assigned to the FDS and SAMIM forces, further raising questions about the combat readiness of the two forces.
Sources say that the insurgents terrorise villages entrusted to SAMIM and Mozambican forces, who seem to have no appetite to chase them into the dense forests, as the Rwandans do.
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