IS Insurgency Displaces Hundreds Of Thousands In Mozambique

By Staff, Agencies

More than 300,000 people have been displaced by an ongoing IS insurgency in northern Mozambique since July, raising growing concerns over the government’s ability to contain the violence.

While international attention remains focused on conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, the crisis in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region has received limited scrutiny.

Since the insurgency began in 2017, more than one million people have been forced from their homes, many of them multiple times.

The violence erupted in October 2017 in the coastal town of Mocímboa da Praia and escalated dramatically in March 2021, when IS fighters attacked the town of Palma, killing over 600 people, including foreign workers linked to a major liquefied natural gas project.

In response, Rwanda deployed troops to assist Mozambican forces in July 2021. Although the intervention initially pushed militants back, attacks on civilians have continued and intensified this year. Rwanda’s force has since expanded to an estimated 4,000–5,000 personnel.

In November alone, more than 100,000 people were newly displaced as fighting spread south into Nampula province. By the end of the month, total displacement exceeded 350,000, compared to 240,000 a year earlier.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), 549 people have been killed in 302 attacks so far this year, more than half of them civilians. Civilian deaths are already 56% higher than last year, underscoring the worsening humanitarian toll.