Mozambique: Raid into Tanzania may force Maputo to seek help from SADC – consultants

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Mozambique: Raid into Tanzania may force Maputo to seek help from SADC – consultants

5:13 CAT | 26 Oct 2020

The NKC consultancy on Monday considered the attack on the Tanzanian city of Kitaya, near the border with Mozambique, a “worrying development” that could force Maputo to resort to regional aid to fight the armed insurgency.

“There are already concerns about the spread of the insurgency to the Mozambican provinces of Niassa and Nampula, both characterised by the same levels of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment as Cabo Delgado, as well as a perceived marginalisation by the Maputo government, which are crucial sources of the insurgency in the north,” an analysis by NKC African Economics consultants of last week’s attack on Kitaya in the natural gas-rich Mtwara region.

“If there are more cross-border raids, Mozambique may be forced to reconsider the involvement of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or regional partners, as the crisis threatens to expand beyond Cabo Delgado”.

The attack is classified as “a new and worrying development”, as although the Rovuma River, which separates Mozambique from Tanzania, is a quiet crossing point for people and smuggling, “the insurgents have never made Tanzania a target until now”.

The attack will be met with a response from Tanzanian security forces, “but troops should not cross the border and enter Mozambican territory,” analysts said, arguing that “relations between the two neighbours are not good and Mozambique has avoided asking for a regional response from SADC precisely because of fears about its autonomy and opposition to Tanzanian involvement.

Some 300 alleged Islamic militants carried out an attack in southern Tanzania last week, then withdrew to Mozambique, the authorities announced on Wednesday in a press conference cited by financial information agency Bloomberg.

The perpetrators are said to have attacked the natural gas-rich village of Kitaya in the Mtwara region and then withdrew to Mozambique, Tanzania’s police inspector general Simon Sirro said, pointing out that “national and foreign citizens with links to the terrorist incident have been arrested.

Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique, near the Tanzanian border, has been the scene for three years of armed attacks by forces classified as terrorists.

In all, the Mozambican government and relief organisations, notably UN agencies, point to a total of 300,000 displaced persons due to the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado.

There are different estimates for the number of deaths, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 victims.

Source: Lusa