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Mozambique: District administrator warns of terrorist informants within communities
4:04 CAT | 08 Oct 2025
District Administrator Belmiro Casimiro (first from the left) at the opening in Ancuabe of a training course for members of the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) and the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) on criminal investigation in the context of organised and transnational crime, with a focus on terrorism. [Photo: Governo do Distrito de Ancuabe]
The administrator of the district of Ancuabe, in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, warned on Tuesday of the existence of informants for rebel groups among communities affected by armed attacks.
“The other challenge we have identified in our district is the issue of informants for the terrorists. In our communities, there are always some individuals who serve as links with the terrorists. It is urgent for the government, with the involvement of all communities, to ensure that these informants understand that they are destroying the social fabric of our economy and of our district of Ancuabe,” said Belmiro Casimiro.
Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of a training course for SERNIC and Defence and Security Forces members on investigating organised and transnational crime, with a focus on terrorism, the administrator of Ancuabe said the armed conflict has been slowing the district’s development, which has been “repeatedly affected” by the insurgency.
“Our development is being hindered by terrorism. We have been cyclically affected by the consequences of this evil, which is a major challenge not only for our district but also for our Government of Mozambique as a whole,” Belmiro Casimiro added.
Meanwhile, the national director of Criminalistics at SERNIC, Jorge Cório, said there were “some shortcomings in the collection of evidence” for analysis, reiterating the need to train Mozambican forces in this area.
“As you know, when a crime occurs, an attack on a village or a town, there are always traces, evidence that is useful for investigation,” Jorge Cório said on the occasion.
The training of SERNIC and FDS members on criminality and transnational crime, with a focus on terrorism, concludes today.
The province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, rich in natural gas, has faced an armed insurgency since 2017, which has caused thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis with more than one million people displaced since then.
By the end of July, attacks by these groups had already caused more than 57,000 displacements in the district of Chiúre, in the south of Cabo Delgado province, according to previous official data.
Meanwhile, the province has seen a resurgence of attacks by rebel groups, with the districts of Chiúre, Muidumbe, Quissanga, Ancuabe and Meluco all targeted. More recently, Mocímboa da Praia – where the first major terrorist attack occurred on 5 October 2017 – was also attacked, with several deaths reported, leading Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend its local operations for security reasons.
According to United Nations data, between 19 and 26 September 2025, the escalation of attacks and the insecurity caused by armed groups in Cabo Delgado also led to around 22,000 people being displaced in the districts of Balama, Mocímboa da Praia and Nangade.
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said on 25 September that security in Cabo Delgado had improved but that the terrorist threat remained, calling on the Mozambican Defence Armed Forces (FADM) to devise “strategies to eliminate” these insurgent groups.
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people were killed in attacks in northern Mozambique, most of them claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, representing a 36 per cent increase compared with the previous year, according to published data.
According to government figures, two million Mozambicans are facing food insecurity, of whom 148,000 require “urgent humanitarian assistance”.
Source: Lusa
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