Mozambique: Four Rwandan soldiers killed in terrorist ambush – AIM

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Mozambique: Four Rwandan soldiers killed in terrorist ambush – AIM

4:12 CAT | 05 Jun 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: AIM]

Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga, the spokesperson for the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF), has announced the death of four Rwandan soldiers, victims of an ambush in May, in a forest in Mocímboa da Praia district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

The deployment of Rwandan troops began in July 2021, at the request of the Mozambican authorities, to support the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado. Since the withdrawal of the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), Rwanda has deployed 5,000 soldiers on the ground fighting terrorists who claim loyalty to the self-styled “Islamic State” (ISIS).

According to Rwivanga, cited by the South African platform “DefenceWeb”, these four losses that took place last May follow three other losses, in addition to six wounded soldiers.

“We managed to contain them, but we lost four soldiers a few weeks ago. We fell into an ambush in the forest”, he said.

Rwivanga explained that the security situation is under control, despite sporadic attacks by terrorists. “One of the RDF’s achievements was to force the insurgents to retreat into dense forests. From there, they now look for easy targets, going into villages to steal food”, he said.

According to the brigadier, warfare in the jungle is challenging, “So sometimes we use drones to track insurgents. But still, due to the thickly forested terrain, visibility is a challenge.”

“The move into the forests in search of safety has hurt the insurgents because we have cut off their access to the Indian Ocean, an essential route for connecting with the large ISIS networks operating in Africa”, he said.

“All the coastal areas have been cleared. We have blocked access to food and communication”, he added.

He explained that one of the reasons why the Mozambican defence and security forces were unable to contain ISIS on their own was a lack of skill and discipline, but now they have the necessary knowledge to act.

“For two years, starting in 1996, there was an insurgency in Rwanda. So we know how to fight that kind of battle. We don’t intend to stay in Mozambique forever; that’s why we trained them”, he said.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are 25,000 newly displaced people in Cabo Delgado in urgent need of food, shelter, medical assistance and protection. The agency said that only 32 percent of their needs are funded and more lives are at risk.

According to data recently released by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Department of Defense that analyzes conflicts in Africa, in 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in Cabo Delgado.

Source: AIM