Mozambique: Commission hoping for talks with Cabo Delgado insurgents in January 2024 – Sheikh Aminuddin in Angola

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Mozambique: Commission hoping for talks with Cabo Delgado insurgents in January 2024 – Sheikh Aminuddin in Angola

9:13 CAT | 24 Nov 2023

Photo: Lusa

The president of the Islamic Council of Mozambique (CISLAMO) announced on Friday in Luanda that an international commission will work in January 2024 in the province of Cabo Delgado, aiming to “dialogue with the insurgents” to achieve peace in the region.

“We are working on the various fronts, as a religious (leader), as a member of the Council of State and beyond, a commission has been appointed made up of members from neighbouring countries, also from SADC [Southern African Development Community] and with some members of the European community. We are working on this and have already been to Cabo Delgado as well,” replied Sheikh Aminuddin Muhammad today.

Speaking at the end of a service at the Ebad Al Rahman mosque in the urban district of Zango 0, in the municipality of Viana, in Luanda, where he is on a working visit, the official noted that various initiatives have been developed in Cabo Delgado for the pacification of the region.

“We’re studying on the ground how we’re going to do it and our next step, we decided last week, [will be taken] in January [2024]. We’re going to Cabo Delgado and the government is also encouraging us to see if there’s a way and a channel for dialogue with those insurgents, we’re working on that,” he said.

Sheikh Aminuddin Muhammad, also a member of the Council of State and president of the Council of Religions in Mozambique, emphasised that the problem in Cabo Delgado “is not religious” and that it has emerged as a result of the discovery of resources.

According to the Islamic leader, Muslims have lived in Mozambique for over a thousand years, before colonial rule, and have never been terrorists, even after the country achieved independence almost 50 years ago.

“Cabo Delgado’s problem only arose after the discovery of the gas resources, so politicians should be asked why now and not before,” he argued.

Speaking to journalists, the president of CISLAMO emphasised that Muslims live in all of Mozambique’s provinces and not just Cabo Delgado, saying that “if terrorism had anything to do with religion, all of Mozambique would be affected”.

“But the other parts [of the country] are all peaceful and history shows that we were all peaceful,” he said.

Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State and its affiliates.

The insurgency has led to a military response, supported since July 2021 by Rwanda and the SADC, which has made it possible to liberate districts near the gas projects, while new waves of attacks have emerged to the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.

The conflict has already displaced a million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa