…Rwanda also praised for playing a decisive role
By Kelvin Jakachira in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
COMMANDER of the Mozambique Defence Forces, Major General Tiago Alberto Nampele, says the jihadist insurgency in his country’s northern province has been largely defeated; thanks to efforts of African countries, including Lesotho, that have contributed troops to help in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) linked terrorists in the area.
Maj Gen Nampele said between 90 to 95 percent of the territory in Cabo Delgado which had been occupied by the jihadist terrorists was now liberated and secure.
He told reporters in the port city of Mocimboa da Praia on Tuesday that they would soon pursue the few remnants of the insurgency group that were hiding “in small groups” in the Catupa forest, northeast of Macomia District.
Maj Gen Nampele said the remnants now move in very small numbers and they no longer posed any significant threat.
“We are planning an offensive attack to finish them off…We have agreed a plan with Rwandan forces,” Maj Gen Nampele told journalists on an organised tour of the province.
“We are actually informed that the enemy is located in the forests of Catupa where they are in small groups. We are cutting their supplies off including their access to food stuffs.”
He said the insurgents no longer operated from camps or bases.
“They no longer have a base or camps to operate from. They (terrorists) are just moving around in small groups….,” Maj Gen Nampele said.
He praised the Rwandan Security Forces (RSF) for assisting the Mozambican military to defeat the terrorists.
The RSF comprises of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and the Rwanda National Police (RNP). Rwanda deployed in Mozambique in 2021, joining other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries that had also deployed the same year to assist president Filipe Nyusi’s government ward of the terrorists that had taken over the region.
“We learnt a lot from Rwanda. It (Rwanda) became our gas. You can have a stove; you can have food. But if you don’t have gas you cook nothing,” Gen Nampele said.
“So Rwanda became for us the gas. They gave us forces and together, shoulder to shoulder, we did what we have done and we are still doing it together on the ground to defeat the terrorists…..”
RDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga, said the insurgency no longer had the capacity to capture territory in Mozambique as it had been significantly weakened.
Brig Gen Rwivanga said the terrorists were now carrying out sporadic “nuisance” attacks within communities.
“These are nuisance attacks, not organized attacks. But whenever they come they get a blood beating” he said, adding they have conducted successful operations together with SADC forces in the Catupa forests where the remnants of the terrorists were still hiding.
Brig Gen Rwivanga said it was important to sustain operations in the remaining affected areas to completely obliterate the terrorists’ freedom of action.
The ISIS linked Ansar al Sunnah wal Jama’a terrorists had overwhelmed the Mozambican military by March 2021 and occupied vast territory in Cabo Delgado. They terrorised the general populace, killing about 4 000 people in the process, sometimes using ISIS’s renowned cruel methods like beheadings.
The deadly insurgency had displaced hundreds of thousands of people since 2017 but many had now returned after the success of the intervention by the Rwandan and SADC forces.
The insurgency had also disrupted multibillion-dollar investments in Cabo Delgado including the flagship $20 billion liquified natural gas (LNG) project in the area.
In July 2021, Rwanda deployed troops to Cabo Delgado, and immediately undertook a blitz across three districts, Mocimboa da Praia, Palma, and Ancuabe where the terrorists had taken complete charge.
The operation was in conjunction with Mozambican troops and in some instances with SADC forces who are deployed in other parts of Cabo Delgado.
The terrorists were dislodged from their headquarters in Mocimboa da Praia and faced a string of additional battlefield losses which substantially weakened them.
After the terrorists were routed and ousted from occupied territories, state authority was re-established resulting in thousands of displaced people returning to their homes to begin normal life
So far more than 250,000 internally displaced people have now returned to their homes.
“I am now able to work and move freely here,” said a 26-year-old woman, who works as a human resources manager at a construction company in Mocimboa da Praia.
“I never thought I would return here. We thank Rwanda for what it did to us.”
Hamadi Marquez, a fisherman in Quionga, a town in Palma District, who had fled to neighbouring Tanzania, also returned home to carry on with his life.
“Here, our lives depend on two main activities, fishing and farming. Although we haven’t been able to sell more fish like we used to sell before the war, at least we can go fishing without any fear of being attacked by terrorists. We are very thankful to the Rwandan soldiers who restored peace. I wish the peace we have today lasted longer,” Marquez said.
Another Mozambican woman, who was at a fish market in Mocimboa daPraia, said: “We are really grateful to the Rwanda military for coming to our rescue. The situation was very difficult, but we are now safe and doing our daily work.”
Part of key infrastructure that has been rehabilitated include the Mocimboa da Praia Airport which was destroyed by the insurgency when it ran over the town.
The airport is now receiving 13 flights a week, especially to deliver humanitarian supplies. The Mocimboa da Praia Port is now in operation and cargo is now being delivered through the facility, which is on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
Schools, markets, and shops have also reopened. Villagers are now undertaking agricultural activities which had stopped due to the insurgency.
Power supplies, which had been disrupted after a power station in Mocimboa da Praia which supplies five districts in Cabo Delgado was destroyed, have also been restored.
The Awasse Power Station was attacked and destroyed by the insurgents on 5 August 2018. Albino Passe, the manager of the power station, thanked the Rwandan and Mozambican security forces, for their intervention which had enabled repair work to be conducted on the power station.
“We haven’t had any incidents since the time they [Rwandan troops] came. Today, this central power supply station serves electricity to all five districts: Mocimboa da Praia, Palma, Nangade, Muidumbe, and Mueda. The power supply is stable and we can satisfy energy demand in all those districts,” Passe said.
The Joint Task Force Commander of the RSF, Major General Alexis Kagame, told journalists that Rwanda was committed to ensuring security in the areas under their area of operation.
“We are committed and well-prepared to ensure security in the areas under our control so that security in Cabo Delgado Province is fully restored,” Maj Gen Alexis Kagame said.
He said his troops conduct operations including long-range patrols, confidence building patrols, fighting patrols, ambushes, and joint operations with the Mozambican Armed Defence Forces and other troops from the SADC.
“All these operations contributed much to the defeat of the terrorists and, as a result, internally displaced people returned to their homes at the average of 87 per cent,” Maj Gen Kagame said.
Rwandan and Mozambican forces go on joint patrols in the towns where businesses including bars, and barbershops, are open after 9pm.
