Maputo, 14 Mar (AIM) – The Mozambican Minister of the Interior, Pascoal Ronda, believes that the adoption of a new “modus operandi” by the islamist terrorists operating in the northern province of Cabo Delgado shows that there is a new leadership within the group.
According to Ronda, who was speaking on Wednesday at the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, answering requests for information from the deputies, the Defence and Security Forces must adopt new strategies in order to fight the new tactics adopted by the terrorists.”
According to the minister, because of the pressure on the jihadists in the northern part of Cabo Delgado, the terrorists have dispersed to the south of the province to divert the attention of the defence.
“In the context of continued operational pressure, the terrorists have dispersed to the southern region of Cabo Delgado, namely the districts of Ancuabe, Chiúre, Metuge and Quissanga, with the aim of diverting the attention of our forces away from the group’s centres of gravity”, he said.
In August 2023, the Mozambican forces killed the man believed to be the leader of the terrorists, Bonomade Machude Omar, along with other senior members of the group.
But a new leadership seems to have emerged. Ronda believes that most of the current terrorist leaders are currently in the districts of Macomia and Quissanga.
According to the minister, in these places the terrorists have carried out robberies, ambushes, murders, looting, destruction of schools, churches and homes, kidnappings and forced recruitment, “creating a new wave of internally displaced people estimated at around 61,000.”
Meanwhile, the minister said, the defence forces and their allies from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Mission (SAMIM) “have managed to stop the advance of the terrorists’ actions through joint and coordinated operations, especially information about the terrorists’ plan, which represents notable gains in the pacification agenda of Cabo Delgado.”
According to the Minister, the Mozambican state must reinforce its investment in the security forces “in order to deal with any type of threat.”
“It is imperative to complement current operations with socio-economic programmes that could help eliminate the roots that have sustained terrorism and violent extremism in the country. This implies the involvement of other institutions and sectors of society”, Ronda said.
The minister also said that the kidnappings that have been plaguing the country require the approval of a specific law aimed at exemplary punishment of the masterminds.
“It is essential to pass a special law against the crime of kidnapping”, he said.
“From January 2023 until this March, the police had recorded nine cases of kidnapping that were successful and six that were thwarted. Of the nine cases, seven were cleared up and the victims have returned to their families”, he claimed.
(AIM)
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