Leader of Insurgent Group Killed in Northern Mozambique – Report

The military mission of the Southern African Development Community in Mozambique (SAMIM) has said it killed the religious leader of Al-Shabaab militants in Cabo Delgado. According to the SAMIM’s statement, Sheikh Njile North who orchestrated the first attack on MocĂ­mboa da Praia in October 2017, played a leading role in the recruiting and indoctrination of militants.

The Cabo Delgado province, which is the insurgents’ epicentre in Mozambique, has seen the displacement of over 800,000 people, the killing of over 2,500 civilians and the threat of losing billions in gas projects run by multinationals in the region. Mozambique has been battling militants calling themselves Al-Shabaab, whom the U.S. has designated as Islamic State affiliates.

The armed group, known locally as Al-Shabaab, has abducted hundreds of boys, some as young as 12, trained them in bases across Cabo Delgado province, and forced them to fight alongside adults against government forces, according to Human Rights Watch.

AllAfrica’s Silencing The Guns series focuses on peacebuilding on the continent, and today we’re talking about the situation in Mozambique, where terror engulfs the northern province of Cabo Delgado. We’ll hear from David Matsinhe, Southern African researcher at Amnesty International and author, historian, and Yussuf Adam, a peace practitioner who shares his experiences after a field visit in the north.

First, delving into what led Cabo Delgado to become the centre of battles between government troops and fighters led by men the U.S. has now designated as Islamist terrorists, then one of the most respected long-term researchers of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique speaks out after seeing the horrific living conditions of Mozambicans displaced by the ongoing fighting.