1. EU puts two insurgent leaders on the watchlist for terrorism
The European Union has placed two insurgent leaders on a watchlist for terrorist activities. Abu Yasir Hassan and Bonomade Machude Omar, both of whom hold important leadership positions, have been linked to local terrorist activities in the province of Cabo Delgado. The EU has said that the two, working under ISISMozambique, are “responsible for terrorist attacks and serious human rights abuses. Their activities contribute to the expansion of the terrorist threat in Mozambique and pose a serious threat to the EU and regional and international stability. (Hassan and Omar are now) subject to a travel ban and asset freeze, EU persons and operators are forbidden form making funds or economic resources available.” Local observers though have said that the terrorist designation will have no material effect on the two, as the asset freezing will only be applicable if Mozambican authorities have a list of assets owned by the two, and even then, only of those assets are somehow linked to Europe. https://www.mozambiqueinsights.com/what-does-placing-insurgents-ondesignated-list-mean/
2. Mozambique tightens control at the Tanzania border
In Mueda, Cabo Delgado, authorities are demanding tighter control of migrants through the Negomano border post with Tanzania, to have better control of the security in the area. This is according to Cabo Delgado Secretary of State, Antonio Supeia, during the sweating in of the new Mueda administrator, Patricio Mavile, in Pemba, this past week. Supeia also noted that the level and types of cross-border trade between Mozambique and Tanzania is an area of concern for authorities. “It is important to strengthen the control of cross-border trade and migratory movement at crossing points. As we know, the district of Mueda separates our province from the United Republic of Tanzania, through the Rovuma River, hence the need to maintain our presence and control there,” he says. The need for heightened control has been made more urgent because of the transit of people and goods in the last few years between the two countries, as a result of the insurgency in the north of the country. It has become a hotpot of terrorist activity and infiltration, with many insurgents using the porous river passage to flee capture. https://clubofmozambique.com/news/cabo-delgado-authorities-in-mueda-demand-strict-control-atnegomano-border-236749/
3. Ongoing clashes in Cabo Delgado
There were a series of clashes in Cabo Delgado between the FADM and the local insurgent groups in the villages of Mandava and Mapate, in Muidumbe at the end of April, on the 29 th and 30th . At least 5 government soldiers were killed in the clashes, with over a dozen others wounded. It seems, according to witnesses, that on the 29th , security forces attempted to repel insurgents using mortar fire. The insurgents returned fire, which led to an intense firefight. The clash lasted for a few hours, with a helicopter being dispatched to bring reinforcements and to evacuate injured casualties to Pemba. Other sources say that the clash was actually precipitated by a well-planned attack on the FADM barracks in Mandava on the day. This account gels with the statement released by ISISMozambique, which on 3 May stated that “soldiers of the caliphate attacked a position of the crusader Mozambican army, in the village of Mandava.” According to the Carta de Mocambique article, FADM transport had been moving supplies and military personnel to the village of Muambula, near Mandava. Sources close to the scene say once the insurgents began withdrawing only once troops from the Botswana contingent of the SAMIM armed forces came as backup to the location. It seems that in the aftermath of the clash, a large number of arms and ammunition might have been stolen. Interestingly, the insurgents in the area are said to be under the command of Bonomade Machude Omar, one of the individuals who has recently also been placed under sanctions by the EU and the US and is a known leader of the insurgency since it began in 2017. In the Nkonga forest of Nangade, civilians who are returning to their abandoned homes, are uncovering stockpiles of weapons that were abandoned by insurgents. On 27 April, security forces found AK-47 automatic rifles, at least 30, magazines of ammunition, over 10 motar tubes, 8 60mm shells, 2 rocket propelled grenades, a machine gun, and other equipment. A week prior to that, the Lesotho arm of the SAMIM deployment found an arms cache during a routine patrol in Nangade. The Rwandan Defense Force has captured three insurgent collaborators in Nazimoja, as they were trying to flee into the nearby bush. They were captured just south of Mocimboa da Praia, on 28 April. One of those captured is thought to be the wife of an insurgent who ran a business as a front to buy food and other supplies for insurgents in the area.
In other locations though, some insurgents are trying to leave their lives of violence behind and reintegrate peacefully into society. As we have already reported in early April, some insurgents have reverted to Christianity through baptism in local Catholic parishes. On 26 April a group of insurgents appeared in Ntoni village, in Macomia district, and they brought with them food and clothes in an effort to appease and apologise to locals. In nearby Pangane village, approximately 30 insurgents shared the Eid-al-Fitr feast with locals and brought food for the seminal feast. https://www.caboligado.com/reports/cabo-ligado-weekly24-30-april-2023
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