Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi made a surprise visit to gas-rich Cabo Delgado province late last week, accompanying another military detachment that has just been deployed to tackle the brutal activities of armed insurgents, writes Iain Esau.

Nyusi met residents of Mapalangane in Palma region— which will be host a huge liquefied natural gas complex — as well as communities in Mbau and Ilala, which have borne the brunt of many attacks.

He said the insurgents “are the new enemies of the Mozambican people... they come from Uganda, Congo, Tanzania and also Mozambique (and aim to) divert Mozambicans from their development path.”

Nyusi said that to understand the motives of the insurgents “we went to Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, where we saw that these countries also have to deal with (this type of issue)... we need co-ordination between all the countries affected.”

The president hoped the presence of Mozambican armed forces in Cabo Delgado would restore public calm to the region, particularly after some insurgency bases of Al Shaabab groups (with no known links to its Somalia namesake) were overrun.

Local reports said the government has detained 339 alleged members of Islamic insurgent groups which locals call 'Shaababes', because they are mostly young and the expression means “the youth” in Arabic.

The violence in Cabo Delgado has killed almost 300 residents and displaced thousands, some fleeing to Tanzania while about 2000 people have taken refuge on the island of Ibo.

Weekly

Mozambique president visits Cabo Delgado