Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
The insurgency in Cabo Delgado is an ongoing Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, mainly fought between militant Islamists and jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region, and Mozambican security forces. Civilians have been the main targets of terrorist attacks by Islamist militants. The main insurgent faction is Ansar al-Sunna, a native extremist faction with tenuous international connections. From mid-2018, the Islamic State's Central Africa Province has allegedly become active in northern Mozambique as well, and claimed its first attack against Mozambican security forces in June 2019. In addition, bandits have exploited the rebellion to carry out raids. As of 2020, the insurgency intensified, as in the first half of 2020 there were nearly as many attacks carried out as in the whole of 2019.
| Insurgency in Cabo Delgado | |||||||||
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| Part of the war against the Islamic State, Islamic terrorism in Africa and the war on terror | |||||||||
Situation as of March 2024 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Mozambique Private Military Companies
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Ansar al-Sunna Bandits | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Filipe Nyusi Atanasio M'tumuke Bernadino Rafael Cyril Ramaphosa John Magufuli (2020–21) Samia Suluhu (since 2021) Brig. Gen. Nuno Lemos Pires (Since 2021) |
Abu Yasir Hassan Abdala Likongo Ibn Omar † Abu Dardai Jongo Abdul Rahmin Faizal (POW) Abdul Remane Abdul Raim "Muhamudu" † Nuno Remane "Salimo" Abdul Aziz Rajab Awadhi Ndanjile † Twahili Mwidini † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Mozambican security forces
Private Military Contractors
Special Air Service special forces 60 Commandos (Portugal) and Portuguese Marine Corps (training support) Green Berets (training support) |
Various Ansar al-Sunna cells
ISIL | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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11,200 1,495 1,000 304 296 60 20 12 200 Wagner personnel | 160-200 (2024) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Hundreds killed and hundreds wounded 12 Wagner personnel killed 2 killed 2 killed 4+ killed, several wounded 1 killed 1 death (non-combat) |
Hundreds killed and hundreds wounded 470+ arrested[a] | ||||||||
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Total: 4,849 killed including 2,078 civilians 400,000 displaced | |||||||||
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Ansar al-Sunna (English: "Supporters of the Tradition") is similar to the name of an Iraqi Sunni insurgent group that fought against U.S. troops between 2003 and 2007. They are known locally as al-Shabaab but they are not formally related to the better known Somali al-Shabaab. Some of the militants are known to speak Portuguese, the official language of Mozambique, however others speak Kimwane, the local language, and Swahili, the lingua franca language spoken north of that area in the Great Lakes region. Reports also state that members are allegedly mostly Mozambicans from Mocimboa da Praia, Palma, and Macomia districts, but also include foreign nationals from Tanzania and Somalia.