(CRUX. Ngala Killian Chimtom).
Violence has escalated in recent days in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, with the Director of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute of the Southern Africa Bishops’ Conference telling Crux that attacks have become “more severe.” “The situation is deteriorating rapidly. Attacks are now in the south and north of Cabo Delgado. For the first time, the insurgents have crossed the Lurio River and are attacking in Nampula province,” Johan Viljoen said. “The attacks are not different, just more severe,” he said and added that there are possibilities “the Mozambique army suffered many casualties.” Fighting broke out in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique in 2017 when a group calling itself al-Shabab — not linked to the Somali group of the same name – attacked towns in the region.
fter the rebels seized the town of Palma in early 2021, troops from neighboring countries arrived in the country to help the Mozambican military. What initially began as a series of attacks by radical Islamist groups has now escalated into a full-scale civil war, resulting in the loss of over 2,600 lives. Despite its significance, the conflict in this natural gas-rich region has largely escaped global political attention. On Friday, insurgents launched a major attack on the northern town of Macomia which is found in Cabo Delgado.
