- Road traffic on the Macomia–Oasse stretch of the N380 highway in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado has been suspended since Sunday due to insurgent attacks
- Islamic State claims to have killed 14 soldiers, including Mozambicans and Rwandans, and has displayed some bodies on its propaganda channels
By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces used aircraft on Wednesday to bomb areas where they believe Islamic State-linked insurgent cells are located, in the area of the V Congresso village, in Macomia district.
The operation was the latest effort to reopen traffic on National Road Number 380 (N380), the only paved road linking the gas-rich region of Cabo Delgado to the rest of the country.
The latest insurgent attack on the N380 occurred last Sunday at around midday, targeting convoys of civilian vehicles travelling under military escort.
In the days that followed, intense fighting was reported in the area where the attacks occurred, with military contingents deployed from Macomia town to the scene to rescue victims and recover goods being transported on the lorries.
However, the deployed troops fell into several ambushes set by insurgents.
As reported by MOZTIMES on Tuesday, intense clashes were taking place between Islamist insurgents and government forces, supported by members of the ethnic militia known as “Força Local” and Rwandan troops.
On Wednesday, the Islamic State published graphic images on its propaganda channels showing several bodies of Mozambican soldiers from the Quick Reaction Force, trained by the European Union Military Assistance in Mozambique. The images also show two bodies of members of the Força Local militia.
In the message accompanying the images, the Islamic State claims its fighters killed eight Mozambican soldiers and six Rwandan soldiers in the V Congresso area. However, based on uniforms and other visual elements, it is not possible to identify bodies of Rwandan soldiers in the published images.
Despite the air force intervention, traffic on the Macomia–Oasse stretch remained suspended as of Wednesday evening, at least for civilian vehicles.
According to military sources, the use of helicopters was primarily intended to enable the recovery of the bodies of soldiers killed in fighting in the V Congresso area, as insurgents are believed to have already abandoned the area, taking with them various goods looted from vehicles.
Regular ambushes on vehicles travelling along the N380 constitute one of the main sources of terrorist financing in Cabo Delgado, as they allow insurgent groups to obtain various goods, including food, medicines and cash, either through looting or from ransom payments demanded for the release of victims abducted during the attacks.
Despite the military escort accompanying civilian vehicles travelling between Macomia and Oasse, insurgents continue to demonstrate the ability to carry out successful attacks. The last major attack on the same stretch occurred in December last year, around two months ago. (MT)
