Mozambique: President says armed groups part of an ‘international network’

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Mozambique: President says armed groups part of an ‘international network’

3:05 CAT | 31 Aug 2020

Photo: O País

President Filipe Nyusi, said today that the armed groups carrying out attacks in the north of the country are part of an “international terrorism network”, urging unity as imperative in the fight against violence.

Filipe Nyusi referred to the violence in the province of Cabo Delgado when speaking at the launch of the Integrated Development Agency of the North (ADIN), a state entity created to promote development in the north of the country.

“Today we understand more clearly and surely that we are facing an international network waging an aggressive campaign against our country; we are facing the phenomenon of terrorism,” the Mozambican head of state declared.

The network, he continued, was exploiting poverty among young people in Cabo Delgado province to recruit members.

Filipe Nyusi said that the groups’ actions had caused the death of hundreds of people, forcing about 250,000 thousand people from their homes and destroying public infrastructure and private property.

Nyusi acknowledged that the attacks in Cabo Delgado posed an unprecedented challenge in the country’s history, saying it was different from the various other conflicts that the country had already faced.

“It is a new experience and a new reality, totally different from the threats we have so far faced,” the Mozambican head of state said.

Filipe Nyusi called for unity and cohesion in order to combat armed groups in Cabo Delgado, emphasising in “no uncertain terms” his commitment to eradicating violence in the region.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been the target of attacks by armed groups since October 2017, which have already killed at least 1,059 people in almost three years, in addition to the destruction of various infrastructure.

According to the United Nations, armed violence has led to the flight of 250,000 people from districts affected by insecurity, further north of the province.

The United Nations and several international entities have already classified the attacks as a ‘jihadist’ threat and some of the actions have been claimed by the Islamic State.

Source: Lusa