Mozambique: ISIS militants wreak havoc killing 1,000+
ISIS militants wreak havoc in Mozambique, killing more than 1,000 in insurgency. More than 1,000 homes have been torched by the militants, and entire villages are empty after residents fled.
Islamic State-affiliated terrorists have reportedly formed a base hub of operations in Northern Mozambique, killing more than 1,500 people, and displacing more than 250,000, according to the European Union.
The militants intend to spread out from Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province throughout Southern Africa unless stopped, according to analyst Jasmine Opperman of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
“It is Islamic State, seeking a footprint in Southern Africa,” she told Fox News. “Islamic State needs a platform in the region to operate, and Cabo Delgado presents that opportunity, and hence I am saying there is a regional threat.”
Opperman believes South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia are all at risk from ISIS, which started the insurgency three years ago.
More than 1,000 homes have been torched by the militants, and entire villages are empty after residents fled.
A top research analyst told Fox News villagers are given a choice: join ISIS or else. Some villagers have been tortured, raped, and murdered. Young girls have been kidnapped.
“To put it bluntly, it’s spiraling out of control,” claims Opperman.
The militants have fashioned several names for themselves – including Al Shabaab. But there’s no evidence of any direct link with the Somalia-centred group with the same name.
Analysts say the militants are targeting the wealth that is to come from massive natural gas fields currently being explored primarily just offshore. French energy company Total alone is reportedly investing $60 billion in its Mozambique LNG project.
But multiple factors, including alleged corruption within the Mozambican government, have visibly not led to signs of wealth being passed down to the general local community, other than the energy companies employing local staff.
Mozambique ranks 181 out of 187 countries in the most recent UNDP Human Development Index. Meanwhile, the Borgen Project, a Seattle-based non-profit fighting global poverty, claims more than 80% of Mozambicans continue to live on less than $2 a day. Life expectancy in Mozambique is only 55 years, compared to 79 years in the US.
This is why the insurgents claim they attacked, in a huge firefight, and took control of the local port town of Moçimboa da Praia – the supply center for the nearby natural gas projects. Weeks later, with all communications cut, it’s still not clear whether the town is still under rebel control.
Pray that the Mozambique government will quash the efforts of these terrorist groups.
Pray for those displaced by these atrocities, that they will find safety and shelter.
Pray for the humanitarian agencies working to support the affected communities.
Pray against the corruption in the government and that the lack of investment in infrastructure will be reversed.
