Period covered: 1 – 31 October 2024
Summary
This report presents and analyzes the evolution of the terrorist threat in Cabo Delgado in October 2024.
During this period, there was a growing trend of the terrorist threat in the province of Cabo Delgado. The districts of Macomia and Mocímboa da Praia are where the largest number of incidents were recorded, including attacks and killings of civilians in villages along the National Road nº 380 between the village of Awasse and the village of Mocímboa da Praia; Clashes between terrorist groups and the Mozambican and Rwandan Defense and Security Forces; Detonation of improvised explosive devices targeting Government troops from Mozambique and Rwanda and civilian vehicles; kidnapping, murder and decapitation of civilians by terrorists.
The government’s response was marked by the persecution of terrorist groups and some clashes, but there was no major event such as neutralization/elimination of important leaders of terrorist groups or assault on the important base of the Al-sunnah wa Jamah (ASWJ).
Military support to Mozambique by other governments has seen important developments, with the withdrawal of equipment from the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) by sea from the port of Pemba, possibly signaling the end of South Africa’s aspirations to establish a bilateral mission in Cabo Delgado at least in the short term.
The central theme of the month is the dismissal of the Chief of the General Staff of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM), General Bertolino Capitine, and its repercussions in the fight against terrorism.
General Capitine is a man of the field and was once commander of the North Operational Theatre (TON) and enjoys great charisma within the FADM. He was dismissed by the FADM’s Commander-in-Chief, Filipe Nyusi, on October 4, after giving a public lecture at the Joaquim Chissano University Center for Strategic and International Studies, in which he harshly criticized the government’s response to terrorism in Cabo Delgado, particularly the "improvising and sidelining" of FADM in the government’s counter-terrorism strategy.
This first Monthly Briefing on the Terrorist Threat in Cabo Delgado - October 2024, is drawn up in the month that the terrorist attacks in Mozambique turned seven years old. The report is exclusively accessible to THE MOZAMBIQUE TIMES subscribers. If you are not a subscriber, you can request a copy by e-mail subscriptions@moztimes.com
Main incidents recorded
Week of October 1st to 5th
- Members of the terrorist group Al-Sunnah Wa Jamah captured two male civilians on different occasions in the districts of Mocímboa da Praia and Palma and killed them and beheaded them. The attacks were later claimed in al-Naba magazine, a propaganda channel of the Central Islamic State, including photographs where two ASWJ elements appear dressed in uniforms of the Armed Forces of Mozambique (FADM), one beheading a citizen whose arms were tied and another displaying the flag of the Islamic State.
- In the same week, the Mozambican and Rwandan Defense and Security Forces, while patrolling together in the Mucojo region of Macomia, clashed with ASWJ terrorist groups, and there was gunfire exchange. There were no reports of casualties by government forces, nor on the side of the terrorists, nor lost or recovered equipment.
Comment: The clashes in Mucujo are the result of a well-planned operation carried out by the Mozambican and Rwandan Defense and Security Forces, which have about 500 military personnel deployed to the administrative post of Mucojo, that since the end of September and beginning of October it has been carrying out offensive operations against the terrorist group Al Sunnah Wa Jamah in its different bases on the coast of Macomia district, namely (Mucojo, Quiterajo, Pangane, Goludo and Naunde). For this operation, the joint force has deployed helicopters, heavy artillery and a strong contingent that pursues terrorists in their hideouts.
Week of October 6th to 12th
- Units of the Mozambican and Rwandan Defense and Security Forces on patrol detonated two explosive devices set up by terrorists near the village of Manica, on the coast of the Macomia district. The incident resulted in the destruction of an armored vehicle and injuries to several military personnel.
- In the same week, clashes between elements of the ASWJ group and joint forces from Mozambique and Rwanda, in the village of Limala, district of Mocímboa da Praia, resulted in serious injuries to government forces. The IS claimed the death of a Rwandan military man as a result of the clashes, but it was not possible to confirm independently.
- Still in the same week, about 300 dissidents of the terrorist group, women and children, entered the headquarters of the village of Macomia where they surrendered to government authorities. Another 100 have surrendered to the authorities in the district of Mocímboa da Praia, according to Radio Moçambique (Mozambican Radio) by local administrator Sergio Cipriano, indicating that there are still more intent of repentant terrorists to surrender and return to normal life.
Week of October 13th to 19th
In this week, equipment from the South African National Defense Forces was withdrawn from Cabo Delgado for repatriation after months of waiting for a possible bilateral agreement with Mozambique. Equipment had been moved to Cabo Delgado in the context of the SADC mission deployment to Mozambique (SAMIM) to help combat terrorism and violent extremism.
The mission ended in July, but South Africa kept part of its equipment in the town of Pemba, along with a small force for its garrison, while trying to conclude bilateral military agreement with Mozambique for a biliteral mission as it happened with Tanzania. This week, a ship was docked in the port of Pemba loading dozens of Armoured Personnel Carrier Casspir trucks and other SANDF equipment to set sail for the country of origin, signaling the difficulty in establishing bilateral agreement between Maputo and Pretoria. Most of the vehicles shipped back are not in a state to drive due to damage.
Week of October 20th to 26th
- On 23rd of October, at around 9 pm, the terrorist group attacked the village of Awasse in the Mocímboa da Praia district, located along the main road nº 380, killing three people and burning some homes. The attack occurred around 21:00 at night on 23rd October. The terrorists vandalized local shops and looted food in a quick raid before the intervention of the Rwandan forces, whose base is located less than 5 kilometers to the south.
- The following day (24/10), the terrorist group attacked, around 20:00 at night, the village of MUMU, killing a man and burning 05 houses. MUMU is located along the National Road nº 380, about 10 km from the village of Awasse where an attack occurred in the previous day and about 30 km from the headquarters of the village of Mocímboa da Praia. Both attacks were later claimed by the Islamic State.
- On October 26th, three dead bodies with signs of beheading were found in the district of Macomia, on the banks of the Messalo River, after days where the victims, all male, were reported missing. The families of the victims said that they began searching for the missing persons on Thursday (24th) and Saturday (26th) found the bodies on the banks of the Messalo, near Macomia. The victims lived in Muidumbe district, in Mandela’s community. They are believed to have been found by terrorist groups fishing on the Messalo river.
Week of October the 27th to 31st
On October 29th, a passenger and cargo transport vehicle detonated an explosive device at the administrative post of Mbau, south of Mocímboa da Praia, immediately killing the driver and injuring several people. Elements of the terrorist group that were hiding in the vicinity, opened fire on the victims and then looted the goods and kidnapped some people whose number could not be determined. The Islamic State claimed the attack two days later through a post on its propaganda channels.
Comments:
The incidents that occurred in the month of August show that terrorist groups continue to be able to resist despite several combat operations being carried out by joint forces from Mozambique and Rwanda. The districts of Macomia and Mocímboa da Praia, specifically the coastal strip continue to be the main strongholds of the ASWJ group.
These are areas that offer tactical advantage to the group given the condition of the terrain, characterized by dense forests, which makes it difficult for the mechanized force to carry out air force operations. The area near the sea, facilitates terrorists to connect with urban centers for the search of food products.
Joint operations by the Mozambican and Rwandan Armed Forces have significantly reduced the operational capacity of terrorists, but the terrorist threat remains high.
The Mozambican defense forces need to strengthen their maritime patrolling capacity in order to cut off the terrorist supply lines by sea, including other lines that keep the terrorist resistance active.
The joint forces of Mozambique and Rwanda demonstrate a weakness in identifying and deactivating explosive devices that are repeatedly detonated and damage their means of locomotion.
General Bertolino Capitine stands fearlessly on the front lines in defense of the FADM (Mozambique´s Armed Forces of Defense)
General Bertolino Jeremias Capitine during the lecture at CEEI
On the pretext of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Mozambique´s Armed Forces Defense(FADM) held on September 25th , the Center for Strategic and International Studies at the Joaquim Chissano University invited the Deputy Chief of Staff of the FADM, Lieutenant-General Bertolino Capitine, for a lecture on the theme "Mozambique’s Armed Forces of Defense: military transformation, counter-terrorism experiences and challenges to contemporary threats''. The class was given on September 30th and on October 4th, the general was dismissed from his duties.
In Mozambique, it is rare to see a high military rank appearing in public to lecture and especially to speak about burning issues that mark the current situation of the country, much less to talk, especially in the current context of the terrorist threat in the province of Cabo Delgado.
Therefore, the event was very crowded, with the massive presence of academics, figures linked to the defense and security sector, think tanks and some social media.
In his lectures, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Bertolino Capitine, addressed the issues that characterize the FADM throughout its history, mixing more striking and glorifying elements of the FADM and the side that haunts the organization from the inside, including the government’s disinterest in issues of defense and security of the country.
Of the moments of glory referred to by the speaker, he highlighted the determination of FADM/FPLM in consolidating independence and defending sovereignty against the internal insurrection of RENAMO and external aggression carried out by minority regimes and white supremacy Ian Smith in Zimbabwe and Apartheid in South Africa.
General Capitine highlighted that it was in the same period that the Armed Forces under President Samora´s rule were able to take on missions of support for peace and liberation of fraternal peoples still under oppression or in conflict, citing the cases of Tanzania and Uganda, East Timor, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
After the war of destabilization according to the official narrative, through the General Peace Agreement of October 4th, 1992, the speaker plunged into what he called the "dark phase" that now characterizes the FADM, constituted by the former belligerent forces, the national army and Renamo guerrillas.
According to the speaker, the Mozambican Armed Defense Forces have serious internal problems of command and management. This problem degenerates in other evils within the organization such as cases of lack of organic planning, lack of definition of a right partner for purchase of military equipment and material, lack of an internal debate to solve issues of institutional life with a view to the achievement of the objectives and tasks assigned constitutionally.
Another problem raised by the speaker is the lack of interest, political power to the Armed Forces. Political power over time has put the armed forces to the background, giving space and primacy to the police. The result, he said, is that the FADM has regressed considerably compared to the capacity they once held, gaining prestige and respect at regional and international levels. He gave as an example, that the defense sector has a very small budget, which makes it difficult to reequip and modernize according to international standards.
Regarding the experience of the FADM in combating terrorism, this was a subject that brought more controversy in the presentation of General Capitine, which certainly earned him the sentence of dismissal on October 4th.
According to General Capitine, the prevalence of terrorism in Cabo Delgado is due primarily to the lack of interest of political power in defense and security issues.
He said that the political power has so far failed, through the National Defense and Security Council, to take a position on terrorism in Cabo Delgado and therefore declare a state of war, a central element that would give the Armed Forces a mandate to act. The general asked a set of questions such as:
- Without the declaration of war by the CNDS on what legal basis the government invite the military intervention of SAMIM and Rwanda in the country? With the declaration of war all forces would subordinate to the FADM.
- He questions the role of the Republic of Mozambique Police in war issues in Cabo Delgado, to the detriment of its constitutionally mandated role as guarantor of public security.
- He questioned the fact that after 7 years of the terrorist threat, the country does not yet have a national strategy to combat terrorism
- He questioned the situation of, even with terrorism, which requires increased attention and direct involvement of the armed forces, the government does nothing to guarantee an investment and equipping of the FADM with combat means and adequate logistics.
- • He questioned why the government spent large sums of money to invest in foreign forces as it could invest in FADM, claiming that this situation demonstrates once again an intentional action and disinterest of the government in guaranteeing the security of the country.
- He questioned the false propaganda about the results of operations in theatre, by publishing dead terrorist numbers and a situation of stability far from reality. He asked how the government could be talking about a calm situation in Cabo Delgado while there are still many places, including district headquarters and administrative posts that do not hoist the national flag.
The various questions of Capitine earned him dismissal on October 4, 2024, but it seems that the General was aware that he could be dismissed by giving that lecture.
Capitine´s pronouncements can be perceived in two perspectives, namely individual and institutional. From the individual perspective, General Capitine is known in the midst of the military community as a person with integrity, with convictions and high patriotic spirit. Originally from Renamo and with a brisk military career, he is well averse to the functioning of the military institution.
At the institutional level, the general was accompanied by senior officers and generals, so he carried a message from the Armed Forces. The various problems and questions that were raised by him make the day to day of military murmurs, from the highest rank to the soldier.
Meanwhile, the action taken by the President of the Republic and commander-in-chief of the defense security forces was met with disapproval by the FADM and widened the gap between the military and President Nyusi.
The military leaders understand that President Nyusi preferred to sacrifice the welfare of the majority in order to preserve power, exonerating the vice chief of the general staff who was highly respected by his comrades-in-arms.
On the other hand, the dismissal of General Capitine also reflects the continuing silent war that prevails between the Frelimo leadership and the former Renamo guerrillas, integrated into the armed forces as a result of the 1992 PGA. There are serious reports even whistle blowing by the officers coming from Renamo about their exclusion in the structuring decisions of the life of the Armed Forces, a fact that may have dictated the removal of General Capitine without hesitation.
General Capitine did in fact serve as Chief of the General Staff (CEMG) of the FADM, in the interval between the death of the previous CHMG General Eugénio Mussa and the appointment of the current CEMG Joaquim Mangrasse. But he was never appointed to the top post in the FADM, allegedly because he came from RENAMO, although he has nothing to prove about his loyalty to the FADM.
General Capitine was once Commander of the Northern Operational Theater in Cabo Delgado. He was the one chosen by his colleagues stand fearlessly on the front lines in defense of the FADM and the military top brass hope that, despite General Capitine's exoneration, the public exposure of the FADM's problems, especially in the context of a terrorist threat, will lead the government to take measures to enhance and restructure the FADM (MS/LR&BN).
